Sample records for playing outdoors testing

The purpose of this study was to explain children's indoor and outdoorplay in preschool programs in terms of teacher interaction, peer interaction and task orientation. Children's indoor and outdoorplay behaviors were compared using the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS). Findings included significant differences on…

.... The Position Statement was created in response to practitioner, academic, legal, insurance and public debate, dialogue and disagreement on the relative benefits and harms of active (including risky) outdoorplay...

A diverse, cross-sectorial group of partners, stakeholders and researchers, collaborated to develop an evidence-informed Position Statement on active outdoorplay for children aged 3-12 years. The Position Statement was created in response to practitioner, academic, legal, insurance and public debate, dialogue and disagreement on the relative benefits and harms of active (including risky) outdoorplay. The Position Statement development process was informed by two systematic reviews, a critical appraisal of the current literature and existing position statements, engagement of research experts (N=9) and cross-sectorial individuals/organizations (N=17), and an extensive stakeholder consultation process (N=1908). More than 95% of the stakeholders consulted strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the Position Statement; 14/17 participating individuals/organizations endorsed it; and over 1000 additional individuals and organizations requested their name be listed as a supporter. The final Position Statement on Active OutdoorPlay states: "Access to active play in nature and outdoors--with its risks--is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children's opportunities for self-directed playoutdoors in all settings--at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature." The full Position Statement provides context for the statement, evidence supporting it, and a series of recommendations to increase active outdoorplay opportunities to promote healthy child development.

Full Text Available A diverse, cross-sectorial group of partners, stakeholders and researchers, collaborated to develop an evidence-informed Position Statement on active outdoorplay for children aged 3–12 years. The Position Statement was created in response to practitioner, academic, legal, insurance and public debate, dialogue and disagreement on the relative benefits and harms of active (including risky outdoorplay. The Position Statement development process was informed by two systematic reviews, a critical appraisal of the current literature and existing position statements, engagement of research experts (N = 9 and cross-sectorial individuals/organizations (N = 17, and an extensive stakeholder consultation process (N = 1908. More than 95% of the stakeholders consulted strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the Position Statement; 14/17 participating individuals/organizations endorsed it; and over 1000 additional individuals and organizations requested their name be listed as a supporter. The final Position Statement on Active OutdoorPlay states: “Access to active play in nature and outdoors—with its risks— is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed playoutdoors in all settings—at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature.” The full Position Statement provides context for the statement, evidence supporting it, and a series of recommendations to increase active outdoorplay opportunities to promote healthy child development.

Although outdoorplay has been widely recognised for the many benefits it affords children, some have rationalised the need for it based on goals related to physical health. More specifically, these instrumental goals have been closely related to obesity, overweight, and/or physical (in)activity. Adhering to obesity discourses and the notion of a…

Although the term "risk-taking" often has negative connotations, the reality is that the willingness to engage in some risky activities provides opportunities to learn new skills, try new behaviours and ultimately reach our potential. Challenge and risk, in particular during outdoorplay, allows children to test the limits of their physical,…

Infants and toddlers like to crawl, climb, run, and explore in wide open, outdoor spaces. This publication provides ideas for day care providers on using outdoorplay to facilitate learning in infants and toddlers. Section 1 discusses the benefits of daily outdoorplay, including learning to interact with others, practicing language skills,…

Research Findings: Outdoorplay is important for children's health and development, yet many preschool-age children in child care settings do not receive the recommended 60 min/day of outdoorplay. Child care providers have previously described parent-related barriers to increasing outdoor playtime, including parents not providing appropriate…

Research Findings: Outdoorplay is important for children's health and development, yet many preschool-age children in child care settings do not receive the recommended 60 min/day of outdoorplay. Child care providers have previously described parent-related barriers to increasing outdoor playtime, including parents not providing appropriate…

Research on social inequalities in sports participation and unstructured physical activity among young children is scarce. This study aimed to assess the associations of family socioeconomic position (SEP) and ethnic background with children's sports participation and outdoorplay. We analyzed data from 4726 ethnically diverse 6-year-old children participating in the Generation R Study. Variables were assessed by parent-reported questionnaires when the child was 6 years old. Low level of outdoorplay was defined as outdoorplay sports participation and outdoorplay. Socioeconomic inequalities in children's sports participation were found when using maternal educational level (p sports participation among low SEP children). Socioeconomic inequalities in children's outdoorplay were found when using household income only (p sports and playoutdoor sports participation. Low SEP children and ethnic minority children are more likely not to participate in sports and more likely to display low levels of outdoorplay compared with high SEP children and native Dutch children, respectively. In order to design effective interventions, further research, including qualitative studies, is needed to explore more in detail the pathways relating family SEP and ethnic background to children's sports participation and outdoorplay.

A lack of exposure to the natural world has led to a generation of children disconnected from nature. This phenomenon has profound negative implications for the physical and psychological well being of today's youth. Residential environmental education provides one avenue to connect children to nature. One purpose of this study was to investigate the role of Outdoor School, a residential environmental education program, on ecological knowledge, children's connection to nature, school belonging, outdoorplay attitude, environmental stewardship attitude, outdoorplay behavior, and environmental stewardship behavior, as reported by participants. A quasi-experimental research design was utilized in the study. A total of 228 fifth grade students (156 treatment, 72 control) from central Pennsylvania participated. The results of the program evaluation indicated that Outdoor School was successful in achieving significant, positive gains in the areas of ecological knowledge, connection to nature, outdoorplay behavior, and environmental stewardship behavior. No change was found from pretest to post-test in outdoorplay attitudes, environmental stewardship attitudes, and school belonging. Additionally, the study addressed gaps in the literature regarding the relationship between connection to nature, environmental stewardship, and outdoorplay using two different approaches. An adaptation of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used to predict outdoorplay behavior in children. In this model, favorable attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control lead to intentions to perform a given behavior. Intention to perform the behavior is the best predictor for behavior performance. For this study, participants' feeling of connection to nature was added as an affective independent variable. This model explained 45% of the variance in outdoorplay. The hypothesis that a connection to nature would be a significant predictor of both attitudes toward outdoorplay was

To be outdoors and involved in adventures concerns the movement between safety and risk, the familiar and the unfamiliar. Deep involvement in activities and the seriousness found in play are essential in "Bildung." Findings in this paper stem from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a kayak community, between late autumn 2006 until the fall of…

Play and learning in the outdoors have been long-standing features of early years care and education. Unfortunately, children around the world no longer have sufficient opportunities for outdoorplay for a variety of reasons. In the United Arab Emirates, climatic constraints limit outdoorplay for 6 months of the year. One group of preservice…

A review of outdoor solar collector test methods is presented, based largely on the CEC Recommendations for European Solar Collector Test Methods. Test facility design and instrumentation are discussed, with reference to their influence on measured collector efficiencies. Steady state outdoortesting, mixed indoor/outdoortesting and transient testing are reviewed, and it is concluded that although the testing of simple flat plate water heaters is fairly well understood, more work is now required to develop test methods for the new high performance collectors which are coming onto the market.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although environmental characteristics as perceived by parents are known to be related to children’s outdoorplay behavior, less is known about the relation between independently measured neighborhood characteristics and outdoorplay among children. The purpose of this study was to identify quantitative as well as qualitative neighborhood characteristics related to outdoorplay by means of neighborhood observations. Methods Questionnaires including questions on outdoorplay behavior of the child were distributed among 3,651 parents of primary school children (aged 4–12 years. Furthermore, neighborhood observations were conducted in 33 Dutch neighborhoods to map neighborhood characteristics such as buildings, formal outdoorplay facilities, public space, street pattern, traffic safety, social neighborhood characteristics, and general impression. Data of the questionnaires and the neighborhood observations were coupled via postal code of the respondents. Multilevel GEE analyses were performed to quantify the correlation between outdoorplay and independently measured neighborhood characteristics. Results Parental education was negatively associated with outdoorplay among children. Neither the presence nor the overall quality of formal outdoorplay facilities were (positively related to outdoorplay among children in this study. Rather, informal play areas such as the presence of sidewalks were related to children’s outdoorplay. Also, traffic safety was an important characteristic associated with outdoorplay. Conclusions This study showed that, apart from individual factors such as parental education level, certain modifiable characteristics in the neighborhood environment (as measured by neighborhood observations were associated with outdoorplay among boys and girls of different age groups in The Netherlands. Local policy makers from different sectors can use these research findings in creating more activity

Conducted at two separate natural outdoor classrooms with preschool-aged children from three to five years old, this qualitative research study investigated how outdoor environments supported children's creativity and imagination. Although many studies have explored the development of creative arts in the young children, few have focused on…

The purpose of this study was to explore kindergarten teachers' views and roles regarding outdoorplay environments in Omani kindergartens. Thirty kindergarten teachers from 15 private kindergartens were observed and interviewed. The results indicated that teachers recognize the importance of outdoorplay in children's development and learning.…

Full Text Available Risky outdoorplay has been associated with promoting children’s health and development, but also with injury and death. Risky outdoorplay has diminished over time, concurrent with increasing concerns regarding child safety and emphasis on injury prevention. We sought to conduct a systematic review to examine the relationship between risky outdoorplay and health in children, in order to inform the debate regarding its benefits and harms. We identified and evaluated 21 relevant papers for quality using the GRADE framework. Included articles addressed the effect on health indicators and behaviours from three types of risky play, as well as risky play supportive environments. The systematic review revealed overall positive effects of risky outdoorplay on a variety of health indicators and behaviours, most commonly physical activity, but also social health and behaviours, injuries, and aggression. The review indicated the need for additional “good quality” studies; however, we note that even in the face of the generally exclusionary systematic review process, our findings support the promotion of risky outdoorplay for healthy child development. These positive results with the marked reduction in risky outdoorplay opportunities in recent generations indicate the need to encourage action to support children’s risky outdoorplay opportunities. Policy and practice precedents and recommendations for action are discussed.

Risky outdoorplay has been associated with promoting children's health and development, but also with injury and death. Risky outdoorplay has diminished over time, concurrent with increasing concerns regarding child safety and emphasis on injury prevention. We sought to conduct a systematic review to examine the relationship between risky outdoorplay and health in children, in order to inform the debate regarding its benefits and harms. We identified and evaluated 21 relevant papers for quality using the GRADE framework. Included articles addressed the effect on health indicators and behaviours from three types of risky play, as well as risky play supportive environments. The systematic review revealed overall positive effects of risky outdoorplay on a variety of health indicators and behaviours, most commonly physical activity, but also social health and behaviours, injuries, and aggression. The review indicated the need for additional "good quality" studies; however, we note that even in the face of the generally exclusionary systematic review process, our findings support the promotion of risky outdoorplay for healthy child development. These positive results with the marked reduction in risky outdoorplay opportunities in recent generations indicate the need to encourage action to support children's risky outdoorplay opportunities. Policy and practice precedents and recommendations for action are discussed.

A growing body of literature indicates that humans need contact with nature for their wellbeing, however at the same time young children are becoming increasingly separated from the natural world as their access to the outdoors diminishes. The importance of school and prior-to-school settings in connecting children with nature has been…

Outdoorplay is a cheap and natural way for children to be physically active. This study aims to identify physical as well as social correlates of outdoorplay in the home and neighborhood environment among children of different age groups. Cross-sectional data were derived from 6470 parents of children from 42 primary schools in four Dutch cities by means of questionnaires (2007-2008). Multivariate sequential Poisson GEE analyses were conducted (2010) to quantify the correlation between physical and social home and neighborhood characteristics and outdoorplay among boys and girls aged 4-6 years, 7-9 years, and 10-12 years. This study showed that next to proximal (home) environmental characteristics such as parental education (RR=0.93-0.97); the importance parents pay to outdoorplay (RR=1.32-1.75); and the presence of electronic devices in the child's own room (RR=1.04-1.15), several neighborhood characteristics were significantly associated with children's outdoorplay. Neighborhood social cohesion was related to outdoorplay in five of six subgroups (RR=1.01-1.02), whereas physical neighborhood characteristics (e.g., green neighborhood type, presence of water, diversity of routes) were associated with outdoorplay in specific subgroups only. Neighborhood social cohesion was related to outdoorplay among children of different age and gender, which makes it a promising point of action for policy development. Policies aimed at improving physical neighborhood characteristics in relation to outdoorplay should take into account age and gender of the target population. 2010 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This qualitative case study explored how early childhood teachers' beliefs and practices influence the function of preschool outdoorplay. Teachers believed that supervision was paramount. They perceived that the physical design of the outdoor environment posed limitations for planning, preparation, and implementation. Teachers' recollections of…

This study examines some characteristics of the outdoor environment in Norwegian kindergartens. Understood as pedagogical space, outdoor conditions may enhance or restrict the youngest children's possibilities for play, learning and development. In 117 of 133 kindergartens (response rate: 87 %) participating in a longitudinal study, the heads of…

Collector thermal efficiency, and efficiency degradation with time were measured for 5 flat-plate solar collectors tested simultaneously in an outdoor solar collector test facility. Results indicate that by using collector performance parameters which account for diffuse insolation, outdoor data recorded on 'cloudy' days can be used as a measure of performance, as long as the ratio of direct to total insolation exceeds approximately 0.6. These outdoor results also show good agreement with thermal efficiency data obtained indoors in a solar simulator. Significant efficiency degradation occurred on only one of the five collectors exposed to outdoor conditions for a period of one to two years.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Emerging empirical evidence suggests exposure to "green" environments may encourage higher levels of physical activity among children. Few studies, however, have explored this association exclusively in pre-school aged children in the United States. We examined whether residing in neighborhoods with higher levels of greenness was associated with higher levels of outdoor physical activity among preschoolers. In addition, we also explored whether outdoorplaying behaviors (e.g., active vs. quiet were influenced by levels of neighborhood greenness independent of demographic and parental support factors. Results Higher levels of neighborhood greenness as measured by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI was associated with higher levels of outdoorplaying time among preschool-aged children in our sample. Specifically, a one unit increase in neighborhood greenness increased a child's outdoorplaying time by approximately 3 minutes. A dose-response relationship was observed between increasing levels of parental support for physical activity (e.g., time spent playing with children and child outdoor physical activity (p Conclusions Consistent with previous studies, neighborhood greenness influences physical activity behavior. However, for preschoolers, parental involvement may be more critical for improving physical activity levels.

In this study, we investigated the interplay between screen time, sleep duration, outdoorplay, having a television in the bedroom and the number of televisions at home and their association with body mass index (BMI) in preschool children. All participants, 3-4 years of age (n = 759), were part of

The unstructured space, running, climbing, sliding, and loud nature of playground time can be overwhelming for children with autism who thrive on predictable and structured routines. As a result, these preschoolers often do not experience the learning and social development benefits from outdoorplay seen in their typically developing classmates.…

This study examined characteristics of child care centers associated with preschoolers' moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary behavior while in child care (MVPA-C, SB-C), and attributes of outdoorplay areas associated with the same behaviors during outdoor time (MVPA-O, SB-O). Participants were 89 children (3 -5 years) recruited…

There has been an increasing amount of concern about the lack of direct exposure that young children have to nature and the outdoors in Canada and the United States, leading to an increase in outdoor- and nature-based learning models for young children. However, very little research has been done in the field of early childhood environmental…

Full Text Available Outdoor experimentation of solar cells is essential to maximize their performance and to assess utilization requirements and limits. More generally tests with direct exposure to the sun are useful to understand the behavior of components and new materials for solar applications in real working conditions. Insolation and ambient factors are uncontrollable but can be monitored to know the environmental situation of the solar exposure experiment. A parallel characterization of the photocells can be performed in laboratory under controllable and reproducible conditions. A methodology to execute solar exposure tests is proposed and practically applied on photovoltaic cells for a solar cogeneration system. The cells are measured with concentrated solar light obtained utilizing a large Fresnel lens mounted on a sun tracker. Outdoor measurements monitor the effects of the exposure of two multijunction photovoltaic cells to focused sunlight. The main result is the continuous acquisition of the V-I (voltage-current curve for the cells in different conditions of solar concentration and temperature of exercise to assess their behavior. The research investigates electrical power extracted, efficiency, temperatures reached, and possible damages of the photovoltaic cell.

Suggests advantages and design considerations for outdoor settings for babies. Climate, wildlife, equipment, and the needs and natures of both babies and caregivers are discussed. Provides ideas for landscape design and structures. (SH)

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of time spent in outdoorplay (i.e., on weekday and weekend days) on daily (i.e., average step count) and aerobic step count (i.e., average moderate to vigorous physical activity [MVPA] during the weekdays and weekend days) in fifth grade Costa Rican children. It was hypothesized that: (a)…

This paper presents HybridPLAY, a novel technology composed of a sensor and mobile-based video games that transforms urban playgrounds into game scenarios. With this technology we aim to stimulate physical activity and playful learning by creating an entertaining environment in which users can actively participate and collaborate. HybridPLAY is different from other existing technologies that enhance playgrounds, as it is not integrated in them but can be attached to the different elements of the playgrounds, making its use more ubiquitous (i.e., not restricted to the playgrounds). HybridPLAY was born in 2007 as an artistic concept, and evolved after different phases of research and testing by almost 2000 users around the world (in workshops, artistic events, conferences, etc.). Here, we present the temporal evolution of HybridPLAY with the different versions of the sensors and the video games, and a detailed technical description of the sensors and the way interactions are produced. We also present the outcomes after the evaluation by users at different events and workshops. We believe that HybridPLAY has great potential to contribute to increased physical activity in kids, and also to improve the learning process and monitoring at school centres by letting users create the content of the apps, leading to new narratives and fostering creativity.

Full Text Available This paper presents HybridPLAY, a novel technology composed of a sensor and mobile-based video games that transforms urban playgrounds into game scenarios. With this technology we aim to stimulate physical activity and playful learning by creating an entertaining environment in which users can actively participate and collaborate. HybridPLAY is different from other existing technologies that enhance playgrounds, as it is not integrated in them but can be attached to the different elements of the playgrounds, making its use more ubiquitous (i.e., not restricted to the playgrounds. HybridPLAY was born in 2007 as an artistic concept, and evolved after different phases of research and testing by almost 2000 users around the world (in workshops, artistic events, conferences, etc.. Here, we present the temporal evolution of HybridPLAY with the different versions of the sensors and the video games, and a detailed technical description of the sensors and the way interactions are produced. We also present the outcomes after the evaluation by users at different events and workshops. We believe that HybridPLAY has great potential to contribute to increased physical activity in kids, and also to improve the learning process and monitoring at school centres by letting users create the content of the apps, leading to new narratives and fostering creativity.

The Cherenkov Telescopes Array (CTA) is planned to be an Observatory for very high energy gamma ray astronomy and will consist of several tens of telescopes which account for a reflective surface of more than 10000 m$^2$. The mirrors of these telescopes will be formed by a set of facets. Different technological solutions, for a fast and cost efficient production of light-weight mirror facets are under test inside the CTA Consortium. Most of them involve composite structures whose behavior under real observing conditions is not yet fully tested. An outdoortest facility has been built in one of the candidate sites for CTA, in Argentina (San Antonio de los Cobres [SAC], 3600m a.s.l) in order to monitor the optical and mechanical properties of these facets exposed to the local atmospheric conditions for a given period of time. In this work we present the preliminary results of the first Middle Size Telescope (MST) mirror-monitoring campaign, started in 2013.

The use of animals in biomedical research is a socio-scientific issue in which decision-making is complicated. In this article, we describe an experience involving a role play activity performed during school visits to the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) to debate animal testing. Role playing games require students to defend different…

The use of animals in biomedical research is a socio-scientific issue in which decision-making is complicated. In this article, we describe an experience involving a role play activity performed during school visits to the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) to debate animal testing. Role playing games require students to defend different…

Many children naturally seek challenging physically active play which may involve injury-risk. Prior studies have attempted to describe the characteristics of risky play but to date none have considered factors that impact on opportunities for risky play or the likely resultant outcomes. Using semi-structured interviews and naturalistic…

Many children naturally seek challenging physically active play which may involve injury-risk. Prior studies have attempted to describe the characteristics of risky play but to date none have considered factors that impact on opportunities for risky play or the likely resultant outcomes. Using semi-structured interviews and naturalistic…

A 1-axis carousel tracker equipped with four 3-sun low-concentration mirror modules has now been under testoutdoors at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV) for three years. There are three unique features associated with this unit. First, simple linear mirrors are used to reduce the amount of expensive single crystal silicon in order to potentially lower the module cost while potentially maintaining cell efficiencies over 20% and high module efficiency. Simple linear mirrors also allow the use of a single axis tracker. Second, the azimuth carousel tracker is also unique allowing trackers to be used on commercial building rooftops. Third, an experiment is underway comparing aluminum based mirrors with novel 3M Company multilayer polymeric mirrors which are potentially very low cost. Comparing the data from March of 2008 through March of 2011 shows that the aluminum mirror degradation to date is negligible and that the carousel tracker has been operating continuously and reliable. Also, no degradation has been observed for the 3M brand cool mirrors after one year in use.

As one of the most advanced play forms in childhood, pretend play often demonstrates positive associations with children's development. However, results from research that examines the association between social skills and pretend play are mixed, especially when the complexity of pretend play is taken into account. Moreover, few studies on pretend…

Full Text Available Abstract Background Time spent outdoors is positively associated with physical activity and has been suggested as a proxy for physical activity of children. The role of children's independence in physical activity and time spent outdoors is less understood. This study aimed to assess how much time children spent playingoutdoors after school, and to explore the relationship between outdoorplay and independence among children aged 10–12 years. Method Children recorded how much time they spent playingoutdoors or watching TV/videos or playing computer games after school using a five-day diary, and also reported whether they were allowed to walk on their own in their neighbourhood as an indicator of their independent mobility. Parents were surveyed on family demographics and perception of neighbourhood safety. The surveys were conducted in late 2006 as part of the Central Sydney Walk to School program which involved 1975 children and their parents from 24 primary schools. Factors associated with time spent playingoutdoors were determined by logistic regression modelling. Results Thirty-seven per cent of children spent less than half an hour a day playingoutdoors after school, and 43% spent more than 2 hours a day watching TV, videos or playing computer games. Forty-eight per cent of children were allowed to walk on their own near where they lived. Children's independent mobility was significantly associated with outdoorplay after adjusting for other confounders. Compared with those who were never allowed to walk on their own near where they lived, students who were allowed to walk on their own were significantly more likely to spend more than half an hour a day playingoutdoors after school with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.6, 95% CI 1.84–3.58, P Conclusion The findings that a significant proportion of children spend less than half an hour a day playingoutdoors after school and have excessive screen time have important implications for

Our work assessed the influence of an urban environmental education program on children's attitudes toward outdoorplay, as well as knowledge of neighborhood features that can facilitate this type of activity. The project team engaged 6 schools near the newest Urban Ecology Center location in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, through a community-academic partnership entitled More Than a Pretty Place. Intervention classrooms participated in programming over the 2012-2013 academic year and pre and post surveys were implemented in classrooms. Data were analyzed using multilevel regression models. The intervention group reported reduced fears of outdoorplay in nature and increased frequency of visits to the Urban Ecology Center. The proportion of students who acknowledged knowing of a place to play outside in nature increased significantly in both groups. Our findings indicate an important role for environmental education in addressing fears that may dissuade children from engaging in outdoorplay in natural areas.

Full Text Available Our work assessed the influence of an urban environmental education program on children’s attitudes toward outdoorplay, as well as knowledge of neighborhood features that can facilitate this type of activity. The project team engaged 6 schools near the newest Urban Ecology Center location in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, through a community-academic partnership entitled More Than a Pretty Place. Intervention classrooms participated in programming over the 2012–2013 academic year and pre and post surveys were implemented in classrooms. Data were analyzed using multilevel regression models. The intervention group reported reduced fears of outdoorplay in nature and increased frequency of visits to the Urban Ecology Center. The proportion of students who acknowledged knowing of a place to play outside in nature increased significantly in both groups. Our findings indicate an important role for environmental education in addressing fears that may dissuade children from engaging in outdoorplay in natural areas.

The test procedures used and the test results obtained during the performance of an evaluation test program on the Owens-Illinois Sunpak, model SEC-601, air solar collector under natural outdoor weather conditions are presented. All testing activities were performed on a single module. The test was performed and the data evaluated as applicable to outdoortesting of solar collectors.

An extensive study of the corrosion resistance of a large number and a large variety of coatings systems for steel protection has been carried out. With these, three types of accelerated tests have been correlated with observerations from two years of outdoor exposure in a marine environment, and a

The objective of the project covered in this report is to establish and operate a facility in the American Southwest to test the concept of producing microalgae on a large scale. This microalgae would then be used as a feedstock for producing liquid fuels. The site chosen for this project was an existing water research station in Roswell, New Mexico; the climate and water resources are representative of those in the Southwest. For this project, researchers tested specific designs, modes of operation, and strains of microalgae; proposed and evaluated modifications to technological concepts; and assessed the progress toward meeting cost objectives.

in Raleigh. Trees and shrubbery integrated in children’s playscape trigger both physical activity and sun-protective behaviour in Sweden, and previous measurements in Stockholm were confirmed. Such outdoor environment should be recommended, but the role of season and climate needs to be further explored....

Modern parabolic trough solar collectors operated at high temperatures to provide the heat input to Rankine steam power cycles employ evacuated receiver tubes along the collector focal line. High performance is achieved via the use of a selective surface with a high absorptance for incoming short-wave solar radiation and a low emittance for outgoing long-wave infrared radiation, as well as the use of a hard vacuum to essentially eliminate convective and conductive heat losses. This paper describes a new method that determines receiver overall optical efficiency by exposing a fluid-filled, pre-cooled receiver to one sun outdoors and measuring the slope of the temperature curve at the point where the receiver temperature passes the glass envelope temperature (that is, the point at which there is no heat gain or loss from the absorber). This transient test method offers the potential advantages of simplicity, high accuracy, and the use of the actual solar spectrum.

In this article, we present a mixed-methods study of 2 schools' elementary science programs including outdoor instruction specific to each school's culture. We explore fifth-grade students in measures of science knowledge, environmental attitudes, and outdoor comfort levels including gender and ethnic differences. We further examine students'…

the flap performance in real turbulent inflow and 3) to test the flap system in a realistic size and Reynolds number when comparing with full scale applications.. The rotating test rig consists of a 2.2m blade section attached to a 10m boom and mounted on a 100kW turbine platform. It was installed in June......The morphing trailing edge system or flap system, CRTEF, has been developed over the last 10 years at DTU Wind Energy. After a promising wind tunnel test of the system in 2009 the INDUFLAP project has been carried out from 2011-2014 to transfer the technology from laboratory to industrial...... manufacturing and application. To narrow the gap between wind tunnel testing and full scale prototype testing we developed the rotating test rig. The overall objectives with the rotating test rig are: 1) to test the flap system in a realistic rotating environment with a realistic g-loading; 2) to measure...

The PV International Program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently installed a small hybrid solar and wind energy system that could produce enough electricity to power a cabin or provide electricity in a remote village, without being connected to a utility grid. The solar system can provide 1,400 watts of power, and the wind turbine is rated at 900 watts when the wind is blowing at 28 miles per hour. The 48-volt system has eight batteries for storage. When the batteries are fully charged, the control system slows down the wind turbine so as not to overcharge the batteries. The turbine is mounted on a tilt-down, guyless, 30-foot tower that allows one person to easily lower and raise the machine for maintenance. A data acquisition system is being designed to monitor the individual outputs from the solar system and the wind system. The small hybrid system is housed in an insulated shed, the PV International Program's Test Building (ITB). The ITB contains electrical loads found in the average home, including a refrigerator, lights, heaters, air coolers, computers, and a radio.

Full Text Available Social play is known as a cooperative interaction between individuals involving multiple mechanisms. However, the extent to which the equality of individuals' play styles affects the interaction has not been studied in many species. Dyadic play between wolf puppies, as well as between puppies and adults, was studied to investigate both self-handicapping and offensive behaviors to determine the extent to which wolves engage in play styles where one individual does not dominate the play. Our results did not support the hypothesized '50:50' rule, which suggests that more advantaged individuals should show higher rates of self-handicapping behaviors in order to facilitate play with others. Adult wolves performed significantly less self-handicapping behaviors than their puppy partners, and they performed significantly more offensive behaviors than their puppy partners. While the '50:50' rule was not supported at any time during our study period, dyads consisting of two puppies had significantly more equal play than dyads consisting of one puppy and one adult. These results suggest that wolf puppies are more likely to play on equal terms with similarly-aged play partners, while the dominance status of the partners dictates offensive and self-handicapping behaviors between animals of different ages.

Social play is known as a cooperative interaction between individuals involving multiple mechanisms. However, the extent to which the equality of individuals' play styles affects the interaction has not been studied in many species. Dyadic play between wolf puppies, as well as between puppies and adults, was studied to investigate both self-handicapping and offensive behaviors to determine the extent to which wolves engage in play styles where one individual does not dominate the play. Our results did not support the hypothesized '50:50' rule, which suggests that more advantaged individuals should show higher rates of self-handicapping behaviors in order to facilitate play with others. Adult wolves performed significantly less self-handicapping behaviors than their puppy partners, and they performed significantly more offensive behaviors than their puppy partners. While the '50:50' rule was not supported at any time during our study period, dyads consisting of two puppies had significantly more equal play than dyads consisting of one puppy and one adult. These results suggest that wolf puppies are more likely to play on equal terms with similarly-aged play partners, while the dominance status of the partners dictates offensive and self-handicapping behaviors between animals of different ages.

As one of the most important components of a construction, the outdoor wall plays a significant role in heat insulation, heat preservation and energy saving. Improving the heat insulation of the outdoor wall is the focus of researchers. This paper reviews the development of the compound outdoor wall and introduces the structure of the compound outdoor wall of wood framed construction. Methods for measuring the thermal characteristics of the compound outdoor wall including the steady and unsteady state thermal characteristics, tests in laboratory and field, and researches on the thermal characteristics of the compound outdoor wall are elaborately reviewed. Researches on the thermal characteristics of the compound outdoor wall will promote the further development of wood framed construction in China.

The Symbolic PlayTest was given to 31 socially impaired and 29 sociable elementary grade children retarded in language comprehension, of similar intelligence (profoundly retarded to normal). Playtest age and spontaneous pretend play were similar in sociable Ss but, in the socially impaired, spontaneous pretend play was lower than playtest age…

An outdoor classroom is the ideal vehicle for community involvement: Parents, native plant societies, 4-H, garden clubs, and master naturalists are all resources waiting to be tapped, as are local businesses offering support. If you enlist your community in the development and maintenance of your outdoor classroom, the entire community will…

This paper presents the design and structural details of two mooring masts, one for remotely controlled outdoor airships and another one for remotely controlled indoor airships. In a previous study, a mast for outdoor remotely controlled airship was designed to meet several user-specified operating requirements, and a simplified version of the same was fabricated. A spring loaded device was incorporated that sounds an alarm when the wind-loads exceed a threshold value, so that the airship can be taken indoors. The present study started with a critical analysis of that mast, and a new mast was designed and fabricated to remove several of its shortcomings. This mast consists of power screw operated telescopic module made of aluminium, mounted on a five legged base with castor wheels, for ease in mobility. Components of the existing mast were used to the possible extent, and the design was simplified to meet the assembly and transportation requirements. The spring mechanism used in alarming device was also modified to ensure higher sensitivity in the range of maximum expected wind-loads acting on the airship. A lightweight mooring mast for indoor remotely controlled airships was also designed and fabricated, which can accommodate non-rigid indoor airships of length up to 5 m. The mast consists of an elevating bolt operated telescopic module mounted on a tripod adapter base, with lockable castor wheels, and has a specially designed mooring-clamp at the top. The various modules and components of the mast were designed to enable quick assembly and transportation.

The correlation between outdoor exposure and indoor accelerated corrosion test for high polymer materials was investigated according to the variation of the functional group of exposure models aged. Environment aging intensities at different zones ( Wuhan and Lasa with the same latitude ) and the influences of indoor accelerating factors including water and ultraviolet on weathering performance of high polymer materials were also studied by comparing different indoor accelerated corrosion testing results. The experimental results show that: by testing variations of carbonyl exponent of polythene ( which represented the degradation behavior of highpolymer materials due to ultraviolet oxidation of double bond) and ultraviolet absorbance of polycarbonate ( which represented the degradation behavior of high polymer materials due to abevacuation of branched chain), the degradation behavior of high polymer materials could be studied. Carbonyl exponent of polythene exposed in Wuhan and Lasa for 1 year was equal to that exposed in indoor cycle ultraviolet for 128 h and 170 h, respectively, the ultraviolet absorbance of polycarbonate exposed in Wuhan for 1 year was equal to that exposed in indoor cycle ultraviolet for 240 h. The ratio of environment aging intensity of Lasa to Wuhan was around 1.2. With the prolongation of cycle accelerated ultraviolet exposure time, the variations of carbonyl exponent of polythene and the ultraviolet absorbance of polycarbonate were in the same shape of first order exponential decay curve. Accompanied with ultraviolet, the effect of water condensated on the sample on weathering performance of polythene was more significant than that of polycarbonate.

An outdoor classroom is an exciting way to connect the learning of science to nature and the environment. Many school grounds include gardens, grassy areas, courtyards, and wooded areas. Some even have nearby streams or creeks. These are built-in laboratories for inquiry! In the authors' third-grade classroom, they align and integrate…

Course objectives and learning activities are contained in this curriculum guide for a 16-week home economics course which teaches cooking and sewing skills applicable to outdoor living. The course goals include increasing male enrollment in the home economics program, developing students' self-confidence and ability to work in groups, and…

Tests were conducted in calm water in Langley tank no. 2 and in calm and rough water at an outdoor catapult in order to determine the best way to make a forced landing of an Army A-26 airplane and to determine its probable ditching behavior. These tests were requested by the Air Materiel Command, Army Air Forces, in their letter of March 26, 1943, WEL:AW:50.

The test procedures and the results obtained during the evaluation of a single-covered liquid solar collector are presented. The tests were performed under outdoor natural conditions. The collector was under stagnation conditions for a total of approximately ten months. The solar collector is a liquid, single-glazed, flat plate collector, and is about 240 inches long, and 3.8 inches in depth.

Plastic samples, solar cell modules, and sub-modules were exposed at test sites in Florida, Arizona, Puerto Rico, and Cleveland, Ohio, in order to determine materials suitable for use in solar cell modules with a proposed 20-year lifetime. Various environments were encountered including subtropical, subtropical with a sea air atmosphere, desert, rain forest, normal urban, and urban-polluted. The samples were exposed for periods up to six months. Materials found not suitable were polyurethane, polyester, Kapton, Mylar, and UV-stabilized Lexan. Suitable materials were acrylic, FEP-A, and glass. The results of exposure of polyvinylidene fluoride were dependent on the specific formulation, but several types appear suitable. RTV silicone rubber (clear) appears to pick up and hold dirt both as a free film and as a potting medium for modules. The results indicate that dirt accumulation and cleanability are important factors in the selection of solar cell module covers and encapsulants.

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how pre-school professionals understand the notion of gender-equity work in a Swedish context, in particular play and learning in the pre-school playground. The study draws on socio-cultural and gender theories. Of the four participating pre-schools, three of them have programs that focus especially on…

Following Mussen and Distler (1959) and Bandura, Ross and Ross (1963), the developmental, defensive, and role-playing theories of identification are tested on high school seniors. Previous tests have supported the developmental and role-playing hypotheses about equally, while the defensive hypothesis lacks consistent empirical support. Questions are raised, however, about the merit of these tests. Data are presented on seniors in an Eastern suburban school and a Midwestern small town school which support the developmental (warmth) hypothesis but which are inconsistent with the defensive and role-playing hypotheses. Parental behavior is measured by the Bronfenbrenner Parent Behavior Questionnaire and identification is measured by the semantic differential.

Highlights: • In outdoor microcosms constructed with lufenuron-spiked sediment we observed that this insecticide persistent in the sediment compartment. • Sediment exposure to lufenuron caused population-level declines (insects and crustaceans) and increases (mainly oligochaete worms) of benthic invertebrates. • The direct and indirect effects observed in the microcosms were supported by results of sediment-spiked single species tests with Chironomus riparius, Hyalella azteca and Lumbriculus variegatus. • The tier-1 effect assessment procedure for sediment organisms recommended by the European Food Safety Authority is protective for the treatment-related responses observed in the microcosm test. - Abstract: Sediment ecotoxicity studies were conducted with lufenuron to (i) complement the results of a water-spiked mesocosm experiment with this lipophilic benzoylurea insecticide, (ii) to explore the predictive value of laboratory single-species tests for population and community-level responses of benthic macroinvertebrates, and (iii) to calibrate the tier-1 effect assessment procedure for sediment organisms. For this purpose the concentration-response relationships for macroinvertebrates between sediment-spiked microcosms and those of 28-d sediment-spiked single-species toxicity tests with Chironomus riparius, Hyalella azteca and Lumbriculus variegatus were compared. Lufenuron persisted in the sediment of the microcosms. On average, 87.7% of the initial lufenuron concentration could still be detected in the sediment after 12 weeks. Overall, benthic insects and crustaceans showed treatment-related declines and oligochaetes treatment-related increases. The lowest population-level NOEC in the microcosms was 0.79 μg lufenuron/g organic carbon in dry sediment (μg a.s./g OC) for Tanytarsini, Chironomini and Dero sp. Multivariate analysis of the responses of benthic macroinvertebrates revealed a community-level NOEC of 0.79 μg a.s./g OC. The treatment

In Requirements Engineering (RE) for large scale game systems, play-testing is an important activity that is used to validate requirements from players’ perspective. Play-testers are not professionals that are involved in the process of RE. They are not professional testers, either. Yet, their

A dynamically similar model of the Army P-38 airplane was tested to determine the best way to land this airplane on the water and to determine its probable ditching performance. The tests consisted of ditching the model at various landing attitudes, flap settings, speeds, weights, and conditions of simulated damage. The model was ditched in calm water from the tank towing carriage and a few ditching were made in both calm and rough water at the outdoor catapult. The performance of the model was determined by making visual observations, by recording lengths of run and time histories of decelerations, and by taking motion pictures of the ditchings.

A guide and introduction to outdoor education for the classroom teacher, the manual lists 5 aims and objectives of outdoor education and discusses the means for reaching these objectives through field trips, camping, outdoor learning centers, and outdoor teaching in school environs. Selected activities are described by subject area: arts and…

The intense focus on standardized tests has created a culture of anxiety in many inner-city schools. This article presents the findings of a case study of a test anxiety program that helped inner-city students and staffs deal more productively with anxiety through play, performance, and team building. According to the findings, the program created…

Engagement in the natural environment provides authentic and concrete opportunities for children to enhance development in all domains (Bailie, 2010). As children play and explore in nature they build gross motor development moving through the outdoors. Learning outside and in nature not only allows for learning across subject areas and…

Engagement in the natural environment provides authentic and concrete opportunities for children to enhance development in all domains (Bailie, 2010). As children play and explore in nature they build gross motor development moving through the outdoors. Learning outside and in nature not only allows for learning across subject areas and…

Why should students be trapped within the four walls of the classroom when there are a lot of ideas to have lessons led in the different way? I am not a fan of having lessons at school. For many students it is also boring to stay only at school, too. So I decided to organize workshops and trips to Universities or outdoors. I created KMO ( Discoverer's Club for Teenagers) at my school where students gave me some ideas and we started to make them real. I teach at school where students don't like science. I try hard to change their point of view about it. That's why I started to take parts in different competitions with my students. Last year we measured noise everywhere by the use of applications on a tablet to convince them that noise is very harmful for our body and us. We examined that the most harmful noises were at school's breaks, near the motorways and in the households. We also proved that acoustic screens, which were near the motorways, didn't protect us from noise. We measured that 30 meters from the screens the noise is the same as the motorway. We won the main prize for these measurements. We also got awards for calculating the costs of a car supplied by powered by a solar panel. We measured everything by computer. This year we decided to write an essay about trees and weather. We went to the forest and found the cut trees because we wanted to read the age of tree from the stump. I hadn't known earlier that we could read the weather from the tree's grain. We examined a lot of trees and we can tell that trees are good carriers of information about weather and natural disasters. I started studies safety education and I have a lot of ideas how to get my students interested in this subject that is similar to P.E., physics and chemistry, too. I hope that I will use my abilities from European Space Education Resource Office and GIFT workshop. I plan to use satellite and space to teach my students how they can check information about terrorism, floods or other

Full Text Available Sport-specific motor fitness tests are not often examined in water polo. In this study we examined the reliability, factorial and discriminative validity of 10 water-polo-specific motor-fitness tests, namely: three tests of in-water jumps (thrusts, two characteristic swimming sprints (10 and 20 metres from the water start, three ball-throws (shoots, one test of passing precision (accuracy, and a test of the dynamometric force produced while using the eggbeater kick. The sample of subjects consisted of 54 young male water polo players (15 to 17 years of age; 1.86 ± 0.07 m, and 83.1 ± 9.9 kg. All tests were applied over three testing trials. Reliability analyses included Cronbach Alpha coefficients (CA, inter-item- correlations (IIR and coefficients of the variation (CV, while an analysis of variance was used to define any systematic bias between the testing trials. All tests except the test of accuracy (precision were found to be reliable (CA ranged from 0.83 to 0.97; IIR from 0.62 to 0.91; CV from 2% to 21%; with small and irregular biases between the testing trials. Factor analysis revealed that jumping capacities as well as throwing and sprinting capacities should be observed as a relatively independent latent dimensions among young water polo players. Discriminative validity of the applied tests is partially proven since the playing positions significantly (p < 0.05 differed in some of the applied tests, with the points being superior in their fitness capacities in comparison to their teammates. This study included players from one of the world’s best junior National leagues, and reported values could be used as fitness standards for such an age. Further studies are needed to examine the applicability of the proposed test procedures to older subjects and females.

Outdoor college English teaching penetrates in each teaching procedure so that student could experience and partici-pate in the whole teaching process. Through the practice and observation of the outdoor classroom, students could give full play to their subjective initiative and really become the master of the class. Meanwhile outdoor experiential English teaching can maximize the initiative of students’learning, improve teams’vitality and creativity. Moreover this paper could also offer some suggestions on the teaching reform of colleges in our country.

A full software and hardware solution has been designed, implemented and tested for control of a small agricultural automatic tractor. The objective was to realise a user-friendly, multi-layer controller architecture for an outdoor platform. The collaborative research work was done as a part...

Vertical jumping is known to be important in volleyball, and jumping performance tests are frequently studied for their reliability and validity. However, most studies concerning jumping in volleyball have dealt with standard rather than sport-specific jumping procedures and tests. The aims of this study, therefore, were (a) to determine the reliability and factorial validity of 2 volleyball-specific jumping tests, the block jump (BJ) test and the attack jump (AJ) test, relative to 2 frequently used and systematically validated jumping tests, the countermovement jump test and the squat jump test and (b) to establish volleyball position-specific differences in the jumping tests and simple anthropometric indices (body height [BH], body weight, and body mass index [BMI]). The BJ was performed from a defensive volleyball position, with the hands positioned in front of the chest. During an AJ, the players used a 2- to 3-step approach and performed a drop jump with an arm swing followed by a quick vertical jump. A total of 95 high-level volleyball players (all men) participated in this study. The reliability of the jumping tests ranged from 0.97 to 0.99 for Cronbach's alpha coefficients, from 0.93 to 0.97 for interitem correlation coefficients and from 2.1 to 2.8 for coefficients of variation. The highest reliability was found for the specific jumping tests. The factor analysis extracted one significant component, and all of the tests were highly intercorrelated. The analysis of variance with post hoc analysis showed significant differences between 5 playing positions in some of the jumping tests. In general, receivers had a greater jumping capacity, followed by libero players. The differences in jumping capacities should be emphasized vis-a-vis differences in the anthropometric measures of players, where middle hitters had higher BH and body weight, followed by opposite hitters and receivers, with no differences in the BMI between positions.

Full Text Available Different from the conventional luminescent solar concentrator (LSC, a 1200mmx1200m m solar concentrator consisting of 150 pieces of three-color 1m long, 2mm diameter fluorescent fibers (FFSC has been designed and mounted on a University building roof and the concentrated light is transported to a remote dark room through 10m long, 201m diameter clear optical fibers. Outdoortesting for remote indoor day lighting and power producing evaluation has been conducted. A 31-day monitored data from 24 May2ooS to 23 june200S has been presented and the results reveal that even though FFSC is not practical yet to replace the conventional BIPV approach for power producing, it has a pleasant potential in remote indoor day lighting {or large amount application in building integration.

Any activity that involves learning, whether it is for therapeutic purposes, traditional education, or outdoor education, is experiential education. In particular, outdoor educators allow participants to experiment with their behaviour in the form of play, for the most part out-of-doors. Many in the industry refer to play as adventure. Those who…

The thesis has three aims: The first aim is to review the existing knowledge about ethnic minorities’ outdoor recreation in Europe. The second aim is to investigate similarities and differences in outdoor recreation patterns between adolescents with ethnic Danish and ethnic minority background....... An emerging field of research on ethnicity and outdoor recreation was identified, compared to the research in North America. However, the European research on ethnicity and outdoor recreation is growing. The European research has shown differences in outdoor recreation pattern (e.g. the motives for outdoor...... for visiting natural areas were most often social, such as being with family and friends, and health and well-being reasons (exercise and relaxing from stress). However, the ethnic minority adolescents more often stated “to be with family” as an important reason for visiting green spaces compared...

Wireless communication allows mobile communications to be located at various places within a construction site and communicate with each other as well as with a central, fixed location such as the jobsite trailer. Wireless LAN is one of the wireless data communication technologies that can be used in a jobsite. The Orinoco Outdoor system consists of Central Outdoor Router(COR), Remote Outdoor Router(ROR) and Internet Client Software.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between teaching elementary science outdoors and student achievement on science standards. The study also considered student attitudes toward learning outdoors in the schoolyard and their achievement on a science standard appropriate for teaching outdoors. The seminal work in the field (Louv, 2005) created the phrase "nature deficit disorder" to describe the condition of children that spend little time outdoors learning from and playing in nature. Five fourth grade classes took part in outdoor instruction on particular standards after taking an attitudinal survey on learning outdoors and a pretest on the science content. Both measures were repeated after outdoor instruction. The hypotheses of the study were that students receiving outdoor instruction demonstrate improved science achievement and that student attitudes towards learning science outdoors has a significant impact on student achievement related to a science standard. The results of the study indicate a gain in student achievement followed the outdoor science lessons, allowing the research to accept the hypothesis as valid. However, the study found that student attitude toward learning science outdoors was not a significant factor in predicting gains in student achievement.

for visiting natural areas were most often social, such as being with family and friends, and health and well-being reasons (exercise and relaxing from stress). However, the ethnic minority adolescents more often stated “to be with family” as an important reason for visiting green spaces compared...... recreation, activities, and preferred outdoor recreation areas) between the minority and majority populations and related these differences to the ethnic minorities’ cultural background. The second paper presents the empirical work of this thesis, which is based on a survey of adolescents’ outdoor recreation...... to their ethnic Danish counterparts. The adolescents use different areas for outdoor recreation: the adolescents with ethnic Danish background use sports grounds for outdoor recreation, while adolescents with ethnic minority backgrounds use urban green spaces for outdoor recreation. For activities reported...

This is a unique book that supports the current thinking behind outdoor learning. It features over 40 ideas for outdoor activities that support mathematics in the early years and the specific areas of learning in the revised EYFS. All the ideas are tried and tested by Terry and this book will prove to be popular in the early years and well into Key stage 1.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Control surface free-play is important throughout the lifetime of a flight vehicle. Free-play can result in aeroservoelastic limit cycle oscillations (LCO) with...

Sediment ecotoxicity studies were conducted with lufenuron to (i) complement the results of a water-spiked mesocosm experiment with this lipophilic benzoylurea insecticide, (ii) to explore the predictive value of laboratory single-species tests for population and community-level responses of bent

Sediment ecotoxicity studies were conducted with lufenuron to (i) complement the results of a water-spiked mesocosm experiment with this lipophilic benzoylurea insecticide, (ii) to explore the predictive value of laboratory single-species tests for population and community-level responses of

Learning curves have been proposed as an adequate description of learning processes, no matter whether the processes manifest within minutes or across years. Different mechanisms underlying skill acquisition can lead to differences in the shape of learning curves. In the current study, we analyze the tournament performance data of 1383 chess players who begin competing at young age and play tournaments for at least 10 years. We analyze the performance development with the goal to test the adequacy of learning curves, and the skill acquisition theories they are based on, for describing and predicting expertise acquisition. On the one hand, we show that the skill acquisition theories implying a negative exponential learning curve do a better job in both describing early performance gains and predicting later trajectories of chess performance than those theories implying a power function learning curve. On the other hand, the learning curves of a large proportion of players show systematic qualitative deviations from the predictions of either type of skill acquisition theory. While skill acquisition theories predict larger performance gains in early years and smaller gains in later years, a substantial number of players begin to show substantial improvements with a delay of several years (and no improvement in the first years), deviations not fully accounted for by quantity of practice. The current work adds to the debate on how learning processes on a small time scale combine to large-scale changes.

The evaluation experiment of DRA is mainly conducted in indoor test loop.Indoor test loop has a small diameter and length,the flowrate of the oil in indoor test loops differs considerably from that in actual pipelines.In view of these shortages of indoor test loop,an outdoortest loop of 300 m-long with a diameter of 159 mm is designed and built,in which the flowrate of oil is more close to that in actual pipelines.Using high-pressure nitrogen as source power,the unit has high accuracy pressure transducers and high frequency pressure transducers along the test section,ultrasonic flow meter at the outlet of the test section,and high pressure tank and normal pressure tank.Because of the continuous variation in pressure,a transient model of the experiment process is established to calculate the change in flowrate and pressure,the range of Reynolds number as well as the experimental duration under different oil viscosity and various initial pressures.%针对减阻剂室内评价环道存在的问题,设计安装了管径159mm、长300m的室外埋地评价环道,其管径、长度、油品流速更接近于实际管道.该装置采用高压氮气作为动力源,测试段沿线布设高精度压力传感器和高频压力传感器,测试段出口设有超声波流量计,同时安装有耐压罐和常压罐.由于在环道评价试验中装置的压力不断变化,因此建立了试验过程氮气管路、油品管路、氮气罐、耐压罐的瞬态模型,使用VB语言编制了计算程序,用以计算不同粘度和初始压力下的油品流速和压力变化,雷诺数范围和试验时间,判断试验条件的可行性.

The restorative potential of green outdoor environments for children in preschool settings was investigated by measuring the attention of children playing in settings with different environmental features. Eleven preschools with outdoor environments typical for the Stockholm area were assessed using the outdoorplay environment categories (OPEC) and the fraction of visible sky from play structures (sky view factor), and 198 children, aged 4.5-6.5 years, were rated by the staff for inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive behaviors with the ECADDES tool. Children playing in large and integrated outdoor areas containing large areas of trees, shrubbery and a hilly terrain showed less often behaviors of inattention (pOPEC can be useful when to locate and develop health-promoting land adjacent to preschools.

Participation of divorced single parents and their children in outdoor activities to ... South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation ... The leisure intervention programme played a positive role in improving ...

for visiting natural areas were most often social, such as being with family and friends, and health and well-being reasons (exercise and relaxing from stress). However, the ethnic minority adolescents more often stated “to be with family” as an important reason for visiting green spaces compared...... to their ethnic Danish counterparts. The adolescents use different areas for outdoor recreation: the adolescents with ethnic Danish background use sports grounds for outdoor recreation, while adolescents with ethnic minority backgrounds use urban green spaces for outdoor recreation. For activities reported...... comparison of to what extend and in what way policy documents and research approaches take into account ethnic minority groups. The findings indicate that there is a correlation in the current national research approaches of the four countries and the societal and political context of the four countries...

Steroid use in professional sports continues to receive much media attention in the United States. The predominant response to the use of steroids in professional sports is negative. Much of the opposition to steroid use focuses on the critical importance of fair play in American society. To the degree that steroids provide some players with an…

The importance of testing, especially certification and high-stakes testing, has increased substantially over the past decade. Building on the "serious gaming" literature and the psychology "priming" literature, we developed a computer game designed to improve test-taking performance using psychological priming. The game primed…

In 1976 a large Solar Simulator was designed and installed at Marshall Space Flight Center. This Solar Simulator is the largest of its type in the country and has a 'working' area of 4 ft x 8 ft. Recently completed comparison tests show excellent correlation with data collected in the natural sun. The Solar Simulator has been in operation since September 1976 and the costs of operation are now determinable together with the cost of design and construction. The authors compare the total operational costs of obtaining test data using the simulator with analogous costs of testing in the natural sun. In addition, productivity is compared.

Outdoor learning areas are becoming more popular as a means for community-based, cross-curricular learning where children study issues of local relevance (Sobel 2004). Outdoor learning areas, any place outside of the school building where children can observe and interact with the natural world around them, include outdoor structures for seating…

Elementary students have limited opportunities to learn science in an outdoor setting at school. Some suggest this is partially due to a lack of teacher efficacy teaching in an outdoor setting. Yet the research literature indicates that outdoor learning experiences develop positive environmental attitudes and can positively affect science…

Positive outdoor teaching and learning experiences and sound pedagogical approaches undoubtedly have contributed towards an understanding of environmental sustainability but it is not always clear how, and to what extent, education can translate into action. This article argues, with reference to social learning theory, that role modelling,…

As part of the national assessment of outdoor recreation trends, the authors have taken a look at participation patterns and levels of participation across activities and across segments of our society. The primary source of data is the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE). The NSRE is the latest in the continuing series of National Recreation...

In Dallas in 1970, high school outdoor education began as a cocurricular woods and waters boys' club sponsored by a community sportsman. Within one year, it grew into a fully accredited, coeducational, academic course with a curriculum devoted to the study of wildlife in Texas, ecology, conservation, hunting, firearm safety, fishing, boating and…

In Dallas in 1970, high school outdoor education began as a cocurricular woods and waters boys' club sponsored by a community sportsman. Within one year, it grew into a fully accredited, coeducational, academic course with a curriculum devoted to the study of wildlife in Texas, ecology, conservation, hunting, firearm safety, fishing, boating and…

This thesis describes the production of microalgae under outdoor conditions, for this research was done at pilot scale. Microalgae are an interesting alternative to currently used sources for bulk commodities as food, feed and chemicals. Research activities within the field are shattered; different

Putative metacognition data in animals may be explained by non-metacognition models (e.g., stimulus generalization). The primary objective of the present study was to develop a new method for testing metacognition in animals that may yield data that can be explained by metacognition but not by non-metacognition models. Next, we used the new method with rats. Rats were first presented with a brief noise duration which they would subsequently classify as short or long. Rats were sometimes forced to take an immediate duration test, forced to repeat the same duration, or had the choice to take the test or repeat the duration. Metacognition, but not an alternative non-metacognition model, predicts that accuracy on difficult durations is higher when subjects are forced to repeat the stimulus compared to trials in which the subject chose to repeat the stimulus, a pattern observed in our data. Simulation of a non-metacognition model suggests that this part of the data from rats is consistent with metacognition, but other aspects of the data are not consistent with metacognition. The current results call into question previous findings suggesting that rats have metacognitive abilities. Although a mixed pattern of data does not support metacognition in rats, we believe the introduction of the method may be valuable for testing with other species to help evaluate the comparative case for metacognition.

Putative metacognition data in animals may be explained by non-metacognition models (e.g., stimulus generalization). The primary objective of the present study was to develop a new method for testing metacognition in animals that may yield data that can be explained by meta-cognition but not by non-metacognition models. Next, we used the new method with rats. Rats were first presented with a brief noise duration which they would subsequently classify as short or long. Rats were sometimes forced to take an immediate duration test, forced to repeat the same duration, or had the choice to take the test or repeat the duration. Metacognition, but not an alternative non-meta-cognition model, predicts that accuracy on difficult durations is higher when subjects are forced to repeat the stimulus compared to trials in which the subject chose to repeat the stimulus, a pattern observed in our data. Simulation of a non-metacognition model suggests that this part of the data from rats is consistent with metacognition, but other aspects of the data are not consistent with metacognition. The current results call into question previous findings suggesting that rats have metacognitive abilities. Although a mixed pattern of data does not support metacognition in rats, we believe the introduction of the method may be valuable for testing with other species to help evaluate the comparative case for metacognition. PMID:21909935

An outdoor education program for migrant children was compared with a typical school program during the summer of 1969. The Wide Range Achievement Test was administered to both groups to obtain a pretest and posttest measure of reading and arithmetic. Visual-motor development was measured by the Bender-Gestalt scored by the Koppitz Developmental…

recreation, activities, and preferred outdoor recreation areas) between the minority and majority populations and related these differences to the ethnic minorities’ cultural background. The second paper presents the empirical work of this thesis, which is based on a survey of adolescents’ outdoor recreation...... pattern. The survey was conducted in two school districts: in North West Copenhagen and the municipality of Ringkøbing-Skjern (n=449, aged 14-16 years, 365 adolescents with ethnic Danish background, and 84 adolescents with ethnic minority background). The results of the questionnaire have shown both...... carried out during some part of the year, “going for a walk”, “barbequing”, “taking a trip with family” were frequently cited by both groups, but more common among adolescents with ethnic minority background. “Walking the dog” was much more common among adolescents with Danish background, who also more...

Under intensive pig husbandry, outdoor systems offer a more complex physical and social environment compared with indoor systems (farrowing sheds). As the rearing environment affects behavioural development, it can, therefore, influence behavioural responses of pigs to stressful environments in later stages of production. We tested how the rearing environment influenced behavioural responses to a novel arena test in piglets on the day that they were weaned and mixed into large groups. We recorded video footage and compared the behavioural responses of 30 outdoor-raised and 30 farrowing shed-raised piglets tested in an experimental arena and sequentially exposed to four challenges (each for 5 min) on the day of weaning. Quantitative and qualitative behavioural measures were recorded using time budgets and scoring demeanour or 'qualitative behavioural expression' (using Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA)). When held in isolation (challenge 1), both groups were scored as more 'scared/worried', while outdoor-raised piglets spent more time eating and jumping against the arena walls. Both groups interacted with a plastic ball (challenge 2: exposure to a novel object) during which they were scored as more 'playful/curious' than other challenges. When a food bowl was introduced (challenge 3), farrowing shed-raised piglets were more interested in playing with the food bowl itself, whereas outdoor-raised piglets spent more time eating the feed. Finally, there were no significant differences in social behaviour (challenge 4: introduction of another piglet) between the two groups in terms of the latency to contact each other, amount of time recorded engaged in aggressive/non-aggressive social interactions or QBA scores. Although piglets spent 30% of their time interacting with the other piglet, and half of this time (47%) was engaged in negative interactions (pushing, biting), the levels of aggression were not different between the two groups. Overall, outdoor

As concern grows over environmental issues and light pollution, this book satisfies a need for a straightforward and accessible guide to the use, design and installation of outdoor lighting.This all-inclusive guide to exterior lighting from the Institution of Lighting Engineers, recognized as the pre-eminent professional source in the UK for authoritative guidance on exterior lighting, provides a comprehensive source of information and advice on all forms of exterior lighting, from floodlighting, buildings and road lighting to elaborate Christmas decorations. Useful to practitioners

Utilizing the Beatles' Yellow Submarine fantasy (e.g., the Blue Meanies), this outdoor education program is designed for sixth graders and special education students. Activities developed at the Cortland Resident Outdoor Education Camp include a series of group stress/challenge activities to be accomplished by everyone in the group, as a group.…

The objectives of the study were to 1) describe the implementation of the "Testing is Healthy" campaign in four locations in British Columbia (BC) and 2) report process evaluation indicators for the campaign. Young adults ages 20-29 years, the age group with the highest reported rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea in BC. Movie theatres located in Langley, Burnaby, Coquitlam and Surrey, which are communities served by the Fraser Health Authority (FHA) in BC. The FHA launched the campaign in 2014 and 2015 to bring down the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV in the region. The campaign used the Cineplex TimePlay platform to engage moviegoers in answering STI/HIV-related questions, and to connect them to a clinic finder on the BC Centre for Disease Control Sex Smart Resource (SSR) website. TimePlay includes elements of gaming, is technology-based, and has been a successful advertisement platform for consumer products and services. However, this is the first time it has been used for sexual health promotion. The campaign was evaluated for 1) reach, based on theatre attendance and TimePlay participation, and 2) the effectiveness of connecting people to sexual health information using SSR web analytics. In total, the campaign received 548 410 views and 77 149 plays. SSR web analytics showed a significant increase in unique page views of the Clinic Finder page between the first and the second campaign. The campaign reached a large population at a low cost and was correlated with spikes in the unique page views for the Clinic Finder page.

Full Text Available Outdoor school is a stable element of Czech educational system. However,many changes have occurred during the last twenty years in the purposes of outdoorschools and in their organization. The article presents various school statistics andresults of research which included questionnaire survey in elementary schools in Pragueand a case study of two classes. The study found that the outdoor school programmesare getting shorter, budgets for outdoor schools are reduced, and prices of outdoorschool programmes for parents are increasing. Because of high prices, almost 20 % ofpupils cannot attend outdoor schools. Nevertheless, according to teachers, pupils andparents, the main purpose of outdoor school programmes is to create a better socialclimate in peer groups. Because of high rates of absence, this goal is partly invalid.Another purpose should be that teachers and children get to know each other better.This goal is invalid as well because many schools hire commercial agencies which limitsthe time that pupils and teachers spend together.

This intervention examined whether fish-oil-supplementation in late infancy modifies free-playtest scores and if this is related to blood pressure (BP) and mean RR interval.......This intervention examined whether fish-oil-supplementation in late infancy modifies free-playtest scores and if this is related to blood pressure (BP) and mean RR interval....

The paper presents a simple model for outdoor air contaminant transmission into occupied rooms. In the model, several factors such as filtration, ventilation, deposition, re-emission, outdoor concentration and indoor sources are included. The model results show that the air exchange rate plays an important role in the transmission of outdoor contaminants into the indoor environment. The model shows that increasing the value of the filtration efficiency decreases the mass concentration of indoor particles. In addition, if outdoor aerosol particles have a periodic behaviour, indoor aerosol particles also behave periodically but smoother. Indoor sources are found to be able to increase indoor concentrations greatly and continuously.

, but not necessarily fun. Play can be dangerous, addictive, and destructive. Along the way, Sicart considers playfulness, the capacity to use play outside the context of play; toys, the materialization of play--instruments but also play pals; playgrounds, play spaces that enable all kinds of play; beauty......, the aesthetics of play through action; political play -- from Maradona's goal against England in the 1986 World Cup to the hactivist activities of Anonymous; the political, aesthetic, and moral activity of game design; and why play and computers get along so well....

Full Text Available In light of the interrelation between motor and cognitive development and the predictive value of the former for the latter, the secular decline observed in motor coordination ability as early as preschool urges identification of interventions that may jointly impact motor and cognitive efficiency.The aim of this study was twofold. It (1 explored the outcomes of enriched physical education, centered on deliberate play and cognitively challenging variability of practice, on motor coordination and cognitive processing; (2 examined whether motor coordination outcomes mediate intervention effects on children’s cognition, while controlling for moderation by lifestyle factors as outdoorplay habits and weight status. Four hundred and sixty children aged 5-10 years participated in a 6-month group randomized intervention in physical education, with or without playful coordinative and cognitive enrichment. The weight status and spontaneous outdoorplay habits of children (parental report of outdoorplay were evaluated at baseline. Before and after the intervention, motor developmental level (Movement Assessment Battery for Children was evaluated in all children, who were then assessed either with a test of working memory (Random Number Generation task, or with a test of attention (from the Cognitive Assessment System, CAS.Children assigned to the ‘enriched’ intervention showed more pronounced improvements in all motor coordination assessments (manual dexterity, ball skills, static/dynamic balance. The beneficial effect on ball skills was amplified by the level of spontaneous outdoorplay and weight status. Among indices of executive function and attention, only that of inhibition showed a differential effect of intervention type. Moderated mediation showed that the better outcome of the enriched physical education on ball skills mediated the better inhibition outcome, but only when the enrichment intervention was paralleled by a medium

In light of the interrelation between motor and cognitive development and the predictive value of the former for the latter, the secular decline observed in motor coordination ability as early as preschool urges identification of interventions that may jointly impact motor and cognitive efficiency. The aim of this study was twofold. It (1) explored the outcomes of enriched physical education (PE), centered on deliberate play and cognitively challenging variability of practice, on motor coordination and cognitive processing; (2) examined whether motor coordination outcomes mediate intervention effects on children's cognition, while controlling for moderation by lifestyle factors as outdoorplay habits and weight status. Four hundred and sixty children aged 5-10 years participated in a 6-month group randomized intervention in PE, with or without playful coordinative and cognitive enrichment. The weight status and spontaneous outdoorplay habits of children (parental report of outdoorplay) were evaluated at baseline. Before and after the intervention, motor developmental level (Movement Assessment Battery for Children) was evaluated in all children, who were then assessed either with a test of working memory (Random Number Generation task), or with a test of attention (from the Cognitive Assessment System). Children assigned to the 'enriched' intervention showed more pronounced improvements in all motor coordination assessments (manual dexterity, ball skills, static/dynamic balance). The beneficial effect on ball skills was amplified by the level of spontaneous outdoorplay and weight status. Among indices of executive function and attention, only that of inhibition showed a differential effect of intervention type. Moderated mediation showed that the better outcome of the enriched PE on ball skills mediated the better inhibition outcome, but only when the enrichment intervention was paralleled by a medium-to-high level of outdoorplay. Results suggest that

The paper presents a research, the aim of which is to find out how graphic expressions and visual language can be used for persuasion. The research material consists of outdoor advertisements photographed in their actual exhibition places in a city environment. Outdoor advertising media, which are used to communicate visual messages from a sender to several addressees, participate in building the visual city culture and open manifold solutions in design. The visual language used in the resear...

Many models for the acoustical properties of rigid-porous media require knowledge of parameter values that are not available for outdoor ground surfaces. The relationship used between tortuosity and porosity for stacked spheres results in five characteristic impedance models that require not more than two adjustable parameters. These models and hard-backed-layer versions are considered further through numerical fitting of 42 short range level difference spectra measured over various ground surfaces. For all but eight sites, slit-pore, phenomenological and variable porosity models yield lower fitting errors than those given by the widely used one-parameter semi-empirical model. Data for 12 of 26 grassland sites and for three beech wood sites are fitted better by hard-backed-layer models. Parameter values obtained by fitting slit-pore and phenomenological models to data for relatively low flow resistivity grounds, such as forest floors, porous asphalt, and gravel, are consistent with values that have been obtained non-acoustically. Three impedance models yield reasonable fits to a narrow band excess attenuation spectrum measured at short range over railway ballast but, if extended reaction is taken into account, the hard-backed-layer version of the slit-pore model gives the most reasonable parameter values.

Regardless of whether you’re a fan of the "beautiful game", you’ve probably heard that the CFC Outdoor Tournament 2011 is the sporting event of the year for the CERN Football Club. This unmissable social, cultural and sporting event will be a chance for CERNois to mingle with external visitors. In the 2011 edition of this legendary tournament, which is over 45 years old, the principle of “fair play” is once again on display. Ten teams – 8 from CERN – are competing for the CFC title. The tournament concludes with a final on 7 July final. Along with a thrilling match, there will also be a host of festivities for the final, including an exhibition game, the final awards ceremony, surprise gifts, a barbeque, musical performances, and more! Make sure to highlight 7 July (after 18.00) on your agenda, and take advantage of what will surely be an unforgettable day! The final tournament matches have been in progress since April and are ...

A philosophical analysis of play and games is undertaken in this paper. Playful gaming, which is shown to be a synthesis of play and games, is utilized as a category for undertaking the examination of play and games. The significance of playful gaming to education is demonstrated through analyses of Plato's, Dewey's, Sartre's, and Marcuse's…

The thermal efficiency of the concentrating, tracking solar collector was tested after ten months of operation at the Marshall Space Flight Center solar house. The test procedures and results are presented.

The DigiFys project explores the design of interactive landscapes for children's outdoorplay. The project combines landscape architecture with design of interactive technology, working towards designs that support children in their everyday play activity, close to home. In the creative lab session, we want to co-design the play landscape together with local children. The focus is on acquiring a perspective on similarities and differences between the children’s play culture in Sweden where th...

Development of children's cognitive and perceptual skills depends heavily on object exploration and experience in their physical world. For children who have severe physical impairments, one of the biggest concerns is the loss of opportunities for meaningful play with objects, including physical contact and manipulation. Assistive robots can enable children to perform object manipulation through the control of simple interfaces. Touch sensations conveyed through haptic interfaces in the form of force reflection or force assistance can help a child to sense the environment and to control a robot. A robotic system with forbidden region virtual fixtures (VFs) was tested in an object sorting task. Three sorting tasks-by color, by shape, and by both color and shape-were performed by 10 adults without disability and one adult with cerebral palsy. Tasks performed with VFs were accomplished faster than tasks performed without VFs, and deviations of the motion area were smaller with VFs than without VFs. For the participant with physical impairments, two out of three tasks were slower with the VFs. This implies that forbidden region VFs are not always able to improve user task performance. Alignment with an individual's unique motion characteristics can improve VF assistance.

to the children’s complex life-worlds. Further, this leads to an analysis of music-play activities as play with an art-form (music), which includes aesthetic dimensions and gives the music-play activities its character of being aesthetic play. Following Lev Vygotsky’s insight that art is a way of building life...

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the reflection on the relationship between values and methodological principles of Outdoor Education and spatial and geographical education perspectives, especially in pre-school and primary school, which relates to the age between 3 and 10 years. Outdoor Education is an educational practice that is already rooted in the philosophical thought of the 16th and the 17th centuries, from John Locke to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and in the pedagogical thought, in particular Friedrich Fröbel, and it has now a quite stable tradition in Northern Europe countries. In Italy, however, there are still few experiences and they usually do not have a systematic and structural modality, but rather a temporarily and experimentally outdoor organization. In the first part, this paper focuses on the reasons that justify a particular attention to educational paths that favour outdoors activities, providing also a definition of outdoor education and highlighting its values. It is also essential to understand that educational programs in open spaces, such as a forest or simply the schoolyard, surely offers the possibility to learn geographical situations. Therefore, the question that arises is how to finalize the best stimulus that the spatial location guarantees for the acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities about space and geography.

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the reflection on the relationship between values and methodological principles of Outdoor Education and spatial and geographical education perspectives, especially in pre-school and primary school, which relates to the age between 3 and 10 years. Outdoor Education is an educational practice that is already rooted in the philosophical thought of the 16th and the 17th centuries, from John Locke to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and in the pedagogical thought, in particular Friedrich Fröbel, and it has now a quite stable tradition in Northern Europe countries. In Italy, however, there are still few experiences and they usually do not have a systematic and structural modality, but rather a temporarily and experimentally outdoor organization. In the first part, this paper focuses on the reasons that justify a particular attention to educational paths that favour outdoors activities, providing also a definition of outdoor education and highlighting its values. It is also essential to understand that educational programs in open spaces, such as a forest or simply the schoolyard, surely offers the possibility to learn geographical situations. Therefore, the question that arises is how to finalize the best stimulus that the spatial location guarantees for the acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities about space and geography.

The time series of indoor and outdoor particle number concentrations in a naturally ventilated residential building in Xi'an were tested simultaneously for 7 days in summer. The relationships between indoor and outdoor concentrations were examined and discussed, and linear regression analysis was employed to correlate the indoor and outdoor concentrations. The diurnal cycles of indoor and outdoor particle concentrations of different particle size ranges all showed positive correlations between indoor and outdoor number concentrations. The I/O ratios of number concentrations varied with the increase of particle size in the range of 0.89 (±0.19) to 0.99 (±0.15).

May 29, 2017 ... This research was designed according to one group pre-test and post-test ... knowledge with practice in nature and outdoor environments ... The idea that education should be given in nature dates back to Aristotle and Plato.

为准确对户外光伏组件性能进行比对，设计了一款基于IV曲线测试的户外多通道光伏组件评测系统。系统采用便携式计算机作为上位机，与下位机6个数据采集模块和6个探头盒单元之间分别建立串口通信，实现对下位机采集数据的接受、分析和处理。本文对系统的结构、硬软件方案设计进行了介绍，对系统功能进行了实验验证，性能良好。%In order to accurately compare the performance of outd oor PV modules, a multi-channel outdoor PV test evaluation system based on the IV curve is designed. The portable computer is used as the host computer which establishes serial communications with six data acquisition modules and six probe boxes of the lower computer respectively so that the collected data in the lower computer can be accepted, analyzed and processed. The system structure, hardware and software designs are presented, and the good functions of the system are verified by experiments.

Discusses the importance of increasing effective communication in outdoor education programs. Examines sensory preferences and how they affect vocabulary, voice tone, and body language. Describes ways that outdoor educators can use this information to improve their communication skills. (LP)

... fullstory_163389.html Time Outdoors May Deliver Better Sleep Camping and exposure to natural light helps prime ... Spending time in the outdoors may improve your sleep, a small study suggests. Researchers found that a ...

The most powerful engine, the most sophisticated aerodynamic devices or the most complex control systems will not improve vehicle performances if the forces exchanged with the road are not optimized by proper employment and knowledge of tires. The vehicle interface with the ground is constituted by the sum of small surfaces, wide about as one of our palms, in which tire/road interaction forces are exchanged. From this it is clear to see how the optimization of tire behavior represents a key-factor in the definition of the best setup of the whole vehicle. Nowadays, people and companies playing a role in automotive sector are looking for the optimal solution to model and understand tire's behavior both in experimental and simulation environments. The studies carried out and the tool developed herein demonstrate a new approach in tire characterization and in vehicle simulation procedures. This enables the reproduction of the dynamic response of a tire through the use of specific track sessions, carried out with the aim to employ the vehicle as a moving lab. The final product, named TRICK tool (Tire/Road Interaction Characterization and Knowledge), comprises of a vehicle model which processes experimental signals acquired from vehicle CAN bus and from sideslip angle estimation additional instrumentation. The output of the tool is several extra "virtual telemetry" channels, based on the time history of the acquired signals and containing force and slip estimations, useful to provide tire interaction characteristics. TRICK results can be integrated with the physical models developed by the Vehicle Dynamics UniNa research group, providing a multitude of working solutions and constituting an ideal instrument for the prediction and the simulation of the real tire dynamics.

The present article explores the role of music-related artefacts and technologies in children’s lives. More specifically, it analyzes how four 10- to 11-year old girls use CDs and DVD games in their music-play activities and which developmental themes and potentials may accrue from such activities...... to the children’s complex life-worlds. Further, this leads to an analysis of music-play activities as play with an art-form (music), which includes aesthetic dimensions and gives the music-play activities its character of being aesthetic play. Following Lev Vygotsky’s insight that art is a way of building life...

To study which individual characteristics and environmental factors correlate with fear of moving outdoors and whether fear of moving outdoors predicts development of mobility limitation.......To study which individual characteristics and environmental factors correlate with fear of moving outdoors and whether fear of moving outdoors predicts development of mobility limitation....

Objective.: The aim of this study was to test the assumption that the level of outdoor physical activity mediates the relationship between fear of falling and actual outdoor falls according to the Task Difficulty Homeostasis Theory. Method.: A prospective follow-up study of 10 months conducted in th

This study compares outdoor adventure-based leader development programs with a traditional non-outdoor program to test predictions about differential effects on leader development outcomes. Participants were drawn from the population of U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen involved in experiential leader development programs as a component of their…

This article studies the implications of current attempts by organizations to adapt to a world of constant change by introducing the notion of playful organizational membership. To this end we conduct a brief semantic history of organizational play and argue that when organizations play, employees...... are expected to engage in playful exploration of alternative selves. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann's theory of time and decision-making and Gregory Bateson's theory of play, the article analyses three empirical examples of how games play with conceptions of time. We explore how games represent an organizational...... desire to reach out - not just to the future - but to futures beyond the future presently imaginable. The article concludes that playful membership is membership through which employees are expected to develop a surplus of potential identities and continuously cross boundaries between real and virtual...

A tutorial paper exploring the characteristics of sound outdoors. Outdoor acoustics is contrasted to room acoustics. A number of important aspects of outdoor acoustics are exemplified and theoretical approaches are outlined. These are influence of ground impedance, influence of weather, screening...

Successful hiring, training, and pairing or grouping of staff requires administrators to consider the relationship between their programs' goals and the specific outdoor leadership skills of individual leaders. Authors have divided outdoor leadership skills into a three-category structure, and models of outdoor leadership have focused on skills…

Limited qualitative research exists on the experiences of outdoor education leaders. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the job-related experiences of outdoor education leaders within and outside the workplace. Five participants who had experience as outdoor education leaders completed in-depth, one-on-one interviews about…

A relatively new movement in psychology, positive psychology, has many implications for the field of outdoor education. Positive psychology has the goal of fostering excellence through the understanding and enhancement of factors that lead to growth. It embraces the view that growth occurs when positive factors are present, as opposed to the…

Outdoor leaders need counseling skills to deal with interpersonal conflicts that arise within a group and to facilitate participant growth and change. Person-centered counseling, reality therapy counseling, and behavioral counseling are discussed, as well as how various techniques from each can be used to the benefit of the leader and the group.…

The new National health and physical education curriculum in Australia includes outdoor education activities as a viable way to achieve intended learning outcomes. However, most health and physical education teacher education courses do not provide a strong focus on the theories, skills and pedagogies that are unique to the effective use of…

these practices, which compose the taxonomy of tablet play. My contribution lies in identifying and proposing a series of theoretical concepts that complement recent theories related to play and digital literacy studies. The data collected through observations informed some noteworthy aspects, including how...... with tablets’ physical and digital affordances shape children’s digital play. This thesis presents how young children’s current practices when playing with tablets inform digital experiences in Denmark and Japan. Through an interdisciplinary lens and a grounded theory approach, I have identified and mapped...... vocabulary in children’s digital play experiences. These early digital experiences set the rules for the playgrounds and assert digital tablets as twenty-first-century toys, shaping young children’s playful literacy....

Pretend play is a form of playful behavior that involves nonliteral action. Although on the surface this activity appears to be merely for fun, recent research has discovered that children's pretend play has connections to important cognitive and social skills, such as symbolic thinking, theory of mind, and counterfactual reasoning. The current article first defines pretend play and then reviews the arguments and evidence for these three connections. Pretend play has a nonliteral correspondence to reality, hence pretending may provide children with practice with navigating symbolic relationships, which may strengthen their language skills. Pretend play and theory of mind reasoning share a focus on others' mental states in order to correctly interpret their behavior, hence pretending and theory of mind may be mutually supportive in development. Pretend play and counterfactual reasoning both involve representing nonreal states of affairs, hence pretending may facilitate children's counterfactual abilities. These connections make pretend play an important phenomenon in cognitive science: Studying children's pretend play can provide insight into these other abilities and their developmental trajectories, and thereby into human cognitive architecture and its development.

The video Playful Interaction describes a future architectural office, and envisions ideas and concepts for playful interactions between people, materials and appliances in a pervasive and augmented working environment. The video both describes existing developments, technologies and designs...... as well as ideas not yet implemented such as playful modes of interaction with an augmented ball. Playful Interaction has been used as a hybrid of a vision video and a video prototype (1). Externally the video has been used to visualising our new ideas, and internally the video has also worked to inspire...

Children’s play must nowadays be understood as a mediatized field in society and culture. Media – understood in a very broad sense - holds severe explanatory power in describing and understanding the practice of play, since play happens both with, through and inspired by media of different sorts....... In this presentation the case of ‘playing soccer’ will be outlined through its different mediated manifestations, including soccer games and programs on TV, computer games, magazines, books, YouTube videos and soccer trading cards....

Full Text Available This research is a classroom action research. The goal of conducting this research is to improve students’ enjoyment level and their test scores by implementing role-playing method. The research is conducted in Accounting Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University at odd semester on academic year 2010/2011. The participants were divided into two classes. The first class was the class that got the treatment, while the second class was the control class. The result of the study showed that there was an improvement of students’ enjoyment level and test scores in the class which implemented role-playing method.

The aim of this article is to develop a view of play as a relation between play practices and play moods based on an empirical study of children's everyday life and by using Bateson's term of ‘framing’ [(1955/2001). In Steps to an ecology of mind (pp. 75–80). Chicago: University of Chicago Press......], Schmidt's notion of ‘commonness’ [(2005). Om respekten. København: Danmarks Pædagogiske Universitets Forlag; (2011). On respect. Copenhagen: Danish School of Education University Press] and Heidegger's term ‘mood’ [(1938/1996). Time and being. Cornwall: Wiley-Blackwell.]. Play mood is a state of being...... in which we are open and ready, both to others and their production of meaning and to new opportunities for producing meaning. This play mood is created when we engage with the world during play practices. The article points out four types of play moods – devotion, intensity, tension and euphorica – which...

A tutorial paper exploring the characteristics of sound outdoors. Outdoor acoustics is contrasted to room acoustics. A number of important aspects of outdoor acoustics are exemplified and theoretical approaches are outlined. These are influence of ground impedance, influence of weather, screening...... due to natural and man-made obstacles. Various areas of application of outdoor sound are described, such as aircraft noise, road traffic noise and industrial noise. More unconventional applications such as outdoor sound reinforcement are also described. The choice of theoretical model must be adapted...

Full Text Available This paper describes a three-dimensional terrain mapping and classification technique to allow the operation of mobile robots in outdoor environments using laser range finders. We propose the use of a multi-layer perceptron neural network to classify the terrain into navigable, partially navigable, and non-navigable. The maps generated by our approach can be used for path planning, navigation, and local obstacle avoidance. Experimental tests using an outdoor robot and a laser sensor demonstrate the accuracy of the presented methods.

Myopia is a major public health concern throughout the world and the prevalence has been increasing rapidly in recent years, especially in urban Asia. The "vitamin D hypothesis" has been raised recently because vitamin D may be a link between less time outdoors and increased risk of myopia. We reviewed all studies published in English which examined the association of time outdoors and blood vitamin D status with myopia. The protective effect of time spent outdoors on the risk of myopia onset has been well-established with numerous observational studies and three trials published. Five studies reporting the association between the blood vitamin D status and the risk of myopia and two studies examining the variations in the vitamin D receptor as potential risk factors for myopia development were identified. Most of the current evidence was cross-sectional in nature and had not properly controlled important confounders in its analyses. The evidence supporting that vitamin D played a role in myopia development is weak and the mechanisms are unclear. At the current stage, it is still unclear whether blood vitamin D status regulates the onset or progression of myopia. Blood vitamin D status may only serve as a biomarker of outdoor exposure, which is the real protective factor for myopia.

Ultraviolet radiation is estimated to be one of the most important risk factors for nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancers. Athletes practicing outdoor sports receive considerable UV doses because of training and competition schedules with high sun exposure, and in alpine sports, by altitude-related increase of UV radiation and reflection from snow- and ice-covered surfaces. Extreme UV exposure in outdoor sports such as skiing, mountaineering, cycling, or triathlon has been documented in a series of dosimetric studies. Sweating because of physical exercise may contribute to UV-related skin damage as it increases the individual photosensitivity of the skin, facilitating the risk of sunburns. Large epidemiological studies showed that recreational activities such as sun exposure on the beach or during water sports were associated with an increased risk of basal cell carcinoma, whereas skiing has been shown to be at increased risk for squamous cell carcinoma. Risk factors of cutaneous melanoma such as the number of melanocytic nevi and solar lentigines have been found to be more frequent in subjects practicing endurance outdoor sports. An increased risk for cutaneous melanoma may be assumed for these athletes. In addition to the important sun exposure, exercise-induced immunosuppression may increase the risk for nonmelanoma skin cancer and cutaneous melanoma in athletes. Frequently, athletes seem to know little about the risk of sun exposure. Protective means such as avoiding training and competition with considerable sun exposure, choosing adequate clothing, and applying water-resistant sunscreen still need to be propagated in the community of outdoor sportsmen.

Today, human beings spend more than 90% of their lives indoors (Evans, 2003). Not long ago, both urban and rural children grew up mostly outdoors, and had direct experiences with plants, animals, and the ways in which the necessities of daily life were grown, made, and used. When they were not helping with household work, children spent much of their time exploring the outdoor environment, relatively free from adult interference. The lives of children today are much different. Children now have fewer opportunities for unstructured play and regular contact with the natural world. Outdoor education programs are one tool that can provide children with continued access to the natural world. This study was conducted to determine how outdoor education program participants interpret their experiences in the natural world, how participant engagement with an outdoor education program shapes their perception of the natural world, and how participant interpretation of an outdoor education program shapes their actions for caring for the natural world when they return home. Using qualitative research methods, my study was conducted with four sixth-grade students participating in a four-day residential outdoor education program. The participants, two females and two males, were given cameras to document the most important aspects of their outdoor education experience. The pictures were used to stimulate conversation and encourage reflection during the interview process. Data sources consisted of a pre-program interview with each student, daily interviews with students while they were participating in the outdoor education program, and a post-program interview conducted one week after the program ended. Critical incident technique analysis was used to delineate the most critical elements of each participant's outdoor education experience. My study found that participants interpreted their outdoor education program as a positive experience. Classes that were challenging and gave

and undecidability. With an empirical point of departure in Danish public school policy and two concrete examples of games utilised in school development, the article analyses how play is a way for organisations to simultaneously decide and also avoid making a decision, thus keeping flexibility and possibilities...... intact. In its final sections, the article discusses what happens to conditions of decision-making when organisations do not just see undecidability as a given condition, but as a limited resource indispensable for change and renewal. The article advances discussions of organisational play by exploring......This article explores how organisational play becomes a managerial tool to increase and benefit from undecidability. The article draws on Niklas Luhmann's concept of decision and on Gregory Bateson's theory of play to create a conceptual framework for analysing the relation between decision...

Full Text Available There is a paucity of data related to sports injuries, concussions, and computerized neurocognitive testing (CNT among very young athletes playing sports in recreational settings. The purpose of this study was to report baseline CNT results among male and female children, ages 5–11, playing sports in Hillsborough County, Florida using ImPACT Pediatric, which is specifically designed for this population. Data were collected from 2016 to 2017. The results show that 657 baseline tests were conducted and t-tests and linear regression were used to assess mean significant differences in composite scores with sex and age. Results showed that females scored better on visual memory and in general as age increased, baseline scores improved. The results can be used to build further studies on the use of CNT in recreational settings and their role in concussion treatment, management, and interventions.

In the listening component of the IELTS examination candidates hear the input once, delivered at "normal" speed. This format for listening can be problematic for test takers who often perceive normal speed input to be too fast for effective comprehension. The study reported here investigated whether using computer software to slow down…

In the listening component of the IELTS examination candidates hear the input once, delivered at "normal" speed. This format for listening can be problematic for test takers who often perceive normal speed input to be too fast for effective comprehension. The study reported here investigated whether using computer software to slow down the tempo…

Full Text Available Reflectors for concentrated solar thermal technologies need to withstand 20 or even 30 years of outdoor exposure without significant loss of solar specular reflectance. In order to test the durability of innovative reflectors within a shorter period of time, an accelerated aging methodology is required. The problem with accelerated testing is that poor correlation between laboratory and field test results has been achieved in the past. This is mainly because unrealistic degradation mechanisms are accelerated in the weathering chambers. In order to define a realistic testing procedure, a high number of accelerated aging tests have been performed on differently coated aluminum reflectors. The degradation mechanisms of the accelerated tests have been classified and systematically compared to samples that have been exposed at nine different exposure sites outdoors. Besides the standardized aging tests, innovative aging procedures have been developed in such way that the agreement to the degradation pattern observed outdoors is increased. Although degradation depends on materials and location, five generic degradation mechanisms were detected. Standardized tests only reproduced one or two of the five mechanisms detected outdoors. Additionally, several degradation effects that were not observed outdoors appeared. The innovative accelerated aging tests of artificially soiled samples were able to reproduce three of the five mechanisms observed outdoors, presenting a much more realistic overall degradation pattern.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests have aroused controversy. Critics have argued many of the tests are not backed by scientific evidence, misguide their customers and should be regulated more stringently. Proponents suggest that finding out genetic susceptibilities for diseases could encourage healthier behaviours and makes the results of genetics research available to the public. This paper reviews the state of play in DTC genetic testing, focusing on tests identifying susceptibilities for lifestyle-related diseases. It will start with mapping the market for the tests. The paper will review (1) research on the content of the online marketing of DTC tests, (2) studies on the effects of DTC genetic tests on customers and (3) academic and policy proposals on how to regulate the tests. Current studies suggest that the marketing of DTC genetic tests often exaggerates their predictive powers, which could misguide consumers. However, research indicates that the tests do not seem to have major negative effects (worry and confusion) but neither do they engender positive effects (lifestyle change) on current users. Research on regulation of the tests has most commonly suggested regulating the marketing claims of the companies. In conclusion, the risks and benefits of DTC genetic tests are less significant than what has been predicted by critics and proponents, which will be argued reflects broader historical trends transforming health and medicine.

of group dynamics, the influence of the fictional game characters and the comparative play experience between the two formats. The results indicate that group dynamics and the relationship between the players and their digital characters, are integral to the quality of the gaming experience in multiplayer......Role-playing games (RPGs) are a well-known game form, existing in a number of formats, including tabletop, live action, and various digital forms. Despite their popularity, empirical studies of these games are relatively rare. In particular there have been few examinations of the effects...... of the various formats used by RPGs on the gaming experience. This article presents the results of an empirical study, examining how multi-player tabletop RPGs are affected as they are ported to the digital medium. Issues examined include the use of disposition assessments to predict play experience, the effect...

AIM: The purpose of this study was to examine the discriminative power of the recently developed Interval Shuttle Run Test (ISRT) and the widely used Maximal Multistage 20 m Shuttle Run Test (MMSRT) for soccer players at different levels of competition. The main difference between the tests is that

This paper aims to identify an understanding of digital games in virtual environments by using Don Ihde’s (1990) postphenomenological approach to how technology mediates the world to human beings in conjunction with Hans-Georg Gadamer’s (1993) notion of play . Through this tentatively proposed...... amalgamation of theories I point towards an alternative understanding of the relationship between play and game as not only dialectic, but also as socially and ethically relevant qua the design and implementation of the game as technology....

The basic strategy for providing indoor air quality in residences is to dilute indoor sources with outdoor air. This strategy assumes that the outdoor air does not have pollutants at harmful levels or that the outdoor air is, at least, less polluted than the indoor air. When this is not the case, different strategies need to be employed to ensure adequate air quality in the indoor environment. These strategies include ventilation systems, filtration and other measures. These strategies can be used for several types of outdoor pollution, including smog, particulates and toxic air pollutants. This report reviews the impacts that typical outdoor air pollutants can have on the indoor environment and provides design and operational guidance for mitigating them. Poor quality air cannot be used for diluting indoor contaminants, but more generally it can become an indoor contaminant itself. This paper discusses strategies that use the building as protection against potentially hazardous outdoor pollutants, including widespread pollutants, accidental events, and potential attacks.

This article describes how to use clay as a potential material for young children to explore. As teachers, the authors find that their dialogue about the potential of clay as a learning medium raises many questions: (1) What makes clay so enticing? (2) Why are teachers noticing different play and conversation around the clay table as compared to…

This study evaluated a 4-week program to increase the time families spent engaging in outdoor activity. Parents were provided strategies to increase family outdoor activity and locations to be active. Sixteen families completed the program. Duration and number of family outdoor activity bouts per week, type of activities, locations, and family…

Role-playing games (RPGs) are a well-known game form, existing in a number of formats, including tabletop, live action, and various digital forms. Despite their popularity, empirical studies of these games are relatively rare. In particular there have been few examinations of the effects of the v......Role-playing games (RPGs) are a well-known game form, existing in a number of formats, including tabletop, live action, and various digital forms. Despite their popularity, empirical studies of these games are relatively rare. In particular there have been few examinations of the effects...... of the various formats used by RPGs on the gaming experience. This article presents the results of an empirical study, examining how multi-player tabletop RPGs are affected as they are ported to the digital medium. Issues examined include the use of disposition assessments to predict play experience, the effect...... RPGs, with the first being of greater importance to digital games and the latter to the tabletop version....

In the era of mobile internet, Location Based Services (LBS) have developed dramatically. Seamless Indoor and Outdoor Navigation and Localization (SNAL) has attracted a lot of attention. No single positioning technology was capable of meeting the various positioning requirements in different environments. Selecting different positioning techniques for different environments is an alternative method. Detecting the users' current environment is crucial for this technique. In this paper, we proposed to detect the indoor/outdoor environment automatically without high energy consumption. The basic idea was simple: we applied a machine learning algorithm to classify the neighboring Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication cellular base station's signal strength in different environments, and identified the users' current context by signal pattern recognition. We tested the algorithm in four different environments. The results showed that the proposed algorithm was capable of identifying open outdoors, semi-outdoors, light indoors and deep indoors environments with 100% accuracy using the signal strength of four nearby GSM stations. The required hardware and signal are widely available in our daily lives, implying its high compatibility and availability.

Full Text Available In the era of mobile internet, Location Based Services (LBS have developed dramatically. Seamless Indoor and Outdoor Navigation and Localization (SNAL has attracted a lot of attention. No single positioning technology was capable of meeting the various positioning requirements in different environments. Selecting different positioning techniques for different environments is an alternative method. Detecting the users’ current environment is crucial for this technique. In this paper, we proposed to detect the indoor/outdoor environment automatically without high energy consumption. The basic idea was simple: we applied a machine learning algorithm to classify the neighboring Global System for Mobile (GSM communication cellular base station’s signal strength in different environments, and identified the users’ current context by signal pattern recognition. We tested the algorithm in four different environments. The results showed that the proposed algorithm was capable of identifying open outdoors, semi-outdoors, light indoors and deep indoors environments with 100% accuracy using the signal strength of four nearby GSM stations. The required hardware and signal are widely available in our daily lives, implying its high compatibility and availability.

Full Text Available In this study, two different surface system applied oriental spruce (Picea orientalis L. were investigated resistance to the outdoor conditions of the test and control wood. Surface systems were compared as two different property polyurethane-based materials. Outdoortest has been implemented in Sürmene coastal, Uzungol and Hıdırnebi plateaus. Oriental spruce samples were compared based on the discoloration and reduction in fiber to parallel compressive strength in outdoor conditions. The weathering test in Hıdırnebi plateau was found at the lowest discoloration and reduction rate on compressive strength. According to the obtained results; polyester-based material, the oriental spruce wood against discoloration and reduction in compressive strength was determined at outdoor conditions is relatively well preserved

Channel cracking fragmentation testing and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy were utilized to study mechanical and chemical degradation of a multilayered backsheet after outdoor and accelerated laboratory aging. A model sample of commercial PPE backsheet, namely polyethylene terephthalate/polyethylene terephthalate/ethylene vinyl acetate (PET/PET/EVA) was investigated. Outdoor aging was performed in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA for up to 510 days, and complementary accelerated laboratory aging was conducted on the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) SPHERE (Simulated Photodegradation via High Energy Radiant Exposure). Fracture energy, mode I stress intensity factor and film strength were analyzed using an analytical model based on channel cracking fragmentation testing results. The correlation between mechanical and chemical degradation was discussed for both outdoor and accelerated laboratory aging. The results of this work provide preliminary understanding on failure mechanism of backsheets after weathering, laying the groundwork for linking outdoor and indoor accelerated laboratory testing for multilayer photovoltaic backsheets.

Physical activity, through independent outdoorplay, has come to the fore as a way to improve children's health through it fostering healthy mental and social as well as physiological development. However, in many high-income countries children's autonomous play opportunities have diminished due to urban intensification and declining parental license. Regardless of this trend, children's play varies across countries, cities, cultures and seasons. This paper offers new insights into the complexities of play as a vital aspect of children's wellbeing. Within the context of New Zealand - whose citizens generally regard themselves as outdoor people - this paper explores why 'play' might resonate differently across localities and seasons. We contrast the play affordances provided by Auckland's central city (dominated by apartment living) with Beach Haven, a suburban area. We employed a multi-method approach and included 20 children and their parents who were recruited through school and summer holiday programs embracing different gender and ethnicities to reflect the general cultural mix of the respective neighbourhoods. We advance two arguments. First, we suggest that the rarity of children playingoutdoors unsupervised normalises supervised indoor play and reduces children's opportunities to see outdoorplay as an alternative to interior or supervised pastimes. Second, we follow Bourdieu's theory of practice to argue that the regard parents and children have towards outdoorplay reflects locally constituted beliefs about what is seasonally 'appropriate' children's activity. We found that extra-curricular activities and supervised excursions are undertaken in the central city all year around and only vary between social groups by the type of destination. In the suburb, independent outdoorplay in summer represents children's main business after school in ways that enhance their environmental literacy and potential future health gain. For others these symbolic values

The purpose of this article is to qualitatively explore the affordances for risky play in two different preschool outdoor environments, an ordinary preschool playground and a nature playground, based on Gibson ("The ecological approach to visual perception," 1979) theory of affordances and Heft's and Kyttea's (Heft in "Children's…

Full Text Available Our society is drenched in the catastrophe; where the growth of financial crisis, environmental cataclysm and militarization represents its gaudiest and mortifying phenomena. Humans struggle with depression, sense of impotence, anguish towards a future considered a threat. A possibility to keep us alive can be represented by the enhancement of our ability in ‘playing Possum’, an exercise of desisting and renitence: to firmly say ‘no’. To say no to a world that proposes just one way of being and living free, that imposes as the only unavoidable possible destiny.

In this paper, the design of future services for children in Danish public libraries is discussed, in the light of new challenges and opportunities in relation to new media and technologies. The Danish government has over the last few years initiated and described a range of initiatives regarding...... in the library, the changing role of the librarians and the library space. We argue that intertwining traditional library services with new media forms and engaging play is the core challenge for future design in physical public libraries, but also that it is through new media and technology that new...

in the library, the changing role of the librarians and the library space. We argue that intertwining traditional library services with new media forms and engaging play is the core challenge for future design in physical public libraries, but also that it is through new media and technology that new......In this paper, the design of future services for children in Danish public libraries is discussed, in the light of new challenges and opportunities in relation to new media and technologies. The Danish government has over the last few years initiated and described a range of initiatives regarding...

Seventy-seven books and articles published between 1939 and 1964 are listed in this bibliography for students and teachers of outdoor education. The entries are listed alphabetically under the following subject headings: outdoor education, conservation, administration, aquatics, archery, arts and crafts, Indian lore, nature study, riding, rifle,…

Cliff Jacobson is one of North America's most respected outdoors writers and wilderness canoe guides. His experiences as a professional outfitter and canoeing consultant have resulted in more than a dozen top-selling books on camping, canoeing, navigation, and outdoor skills.

This article describes the University of Northern British Columbia's (UNBC's) Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management (ORTM) Program, which focuses squarely on the management of outdoor recreation as it relates to conservation (i.e., in and around parks and protected areas), tourism that is both based in and concerned with the natural/cultural…

When people recreate outdoors, they value the quality of the experience. This study examines rhetorical practices that sustain or undermine perceived authentic outdoor recreation experiences. I conducted a rhetorical analysis of my fieldnotes gathered through participant observation and interview transcripts of online and in-person interviews. I…

A framework for using the outdoors as a vehicle for providing meaningful language arts experiences is presented in this guide geared toward intermediate students but adaptable for other ages. The introduction outlines goals of language arts instruction and notes that activities conducted outdoors contribute to these goals because they are…

Nurture young children's innate tendencies toward exploration, sensory stimulation, and STEM learning when you connect outdoor learning with STEM curriculum. Discover the developmental benefits of outdoor learning and how the rich diversity of settings and materials in nature gives rise to questions and inquiry for deeper learning. Full of…

The purpose of this handbook is to provide suggestions for teaching science outdoors through the use of the California Natural History Guides. Specific references to the Guides are made throughout the handbook. Learning activities related to outdoor science education are grouped under the following topics: objectives, suggested activities,…

Mrs. Zahia Marzouk, vice-president of the Alexandria Family Planning Association and a living legend of Egyptian family planning, does not believe in talking about problems. She is far too busy learning from people and teaching them. Her latest brainstorm is a set of playing cards designed to help girls and women to read and learn about family planning at the same time. The 5 packs of cards, representing familiar words and sounds, and each with a family planning joker, took Mrs. Marzouk 6 months to design and paint by hand. They have now been printed, packed into packets provided by UNICEF, and distributed to some 2000 literacy groups in factories and family planning clinics. Each woman who succeeds in learning to read is encouraged to teach 4 others. They then go to the family planning clinic to be examined and gain a certificate. For the teacher who has made them proficient there is a special prize. Girls at El Brinth village outside Alexandria are pictured playing cards at the family planning center where they are learning various skills including how to read.

The influence of older peers on younger children's emerging symbolic play was examined for 24 young children in eight participating long-day child-care centres. Toddler participants (aged from 17 to 31 months) were observed and video-taped in three conditions in free play in the outdoor environment as follows: condition one, with their same-age…

Uses J Bowbly's (1969) theory of attachment as a framework for considering the implications of a lack of outdoor access for parental strategies and for the interaction of parents and children in low-income families. It argues that having access to outdoorplay opportunities is supportive of healthy child development and responsive parenting and…

Uses J Bowbly's (1969) theory of attachment as a framework for considering the implications of a lack of outdoor access for parental strategies and for the interaction of parents and children in low-income families. It argues that having access to outdoorplay opportunities is supportive of healthy child development and responsive parenting and…

13th International Conference on Autonomous Robot Systems (Robotica), 2013 In this paper we present an autonomous ground robot developed for outdoor applications in unstructured scenarios. The robot was developed as a versatile robotics platform for development, test and validation of research in navigation, control, perception and multiple robot coordination on all terrain scenarios. The hybrid systems approach to the control architecture is discussed in the context of multiple robot coor...

Intentional or accidental large-scale airborne toxic release (e.g. terrorist attacks or industrial accidents) can cause severe harm to nearby communities. Under these circumstances, taking shelter in buildings can be an effective emergency response strategy. Some examples where shelter-in-place was successful at preventing injuries and casualties have been documented [1, 2]. As public education and preparedness are vital to ensure the success of an emergency response, many agencies have prepared documents advising the public on what to do during and after sheltering [3, 4, 5]. In this document, we will focus on the role buildings play in providing protection to occupants. The conclusions to this article are: (1) Under most circumstances, shelter-in-place is an effective response against large-scale outdoor releases. This is particularly true for release of short duration (a few hours or less) and chemicals that exhibit non-linear dose-response characteristics. (2) The building envelope not only restricts the outdoor-indoor air exchange, but can also filter some biological or even chemical agents. Once indoors, the toxic materials can deposit or sorb onto indoor surfaces. All these processes contribute to the effectiveness of shelter-in-place. (3) Tightening of building envelope and improved filtration can enhance the protection offered by buildings. Common mechanical ventilation system present in most commercial buildings, however, should be turned off and dampers closed when sheltering from an outdoor release. (4) After the passing of the outdoor plume, some residuals will remain indoors. It is therefore important to terminate shelter-in-place to minimize exposure to the toxic materials.

Field trips are a basic and important, yet often overlooked part of the student experience. They provide the opportunity to integrate real world knowledge with classroom learning and student previous personal experiences. Outdoor guided field trips leave students with an increased understanding, awareness and interest and in science. However, the benefits of this experience are ambiguous at best (Falk and Balling, 1982; Falk and Dierking, 1992; Kisiel, 2006.) Students on an outdoor guided field trip to a local nature park experienced a significant increase in their understanding of the rock cycle. The changes in the pre-field trip test and the post-field trip test as well as their answers in interviews showed a profound change in the students' understanding and in their interest in the subject matter. The use of the "student's voice" (Bamberger and Tal, 2008) was the motivation for data analysis. By using the students' voice, I was able to determine the mechanisms that might influence their understanding of a subject. The central concepts emerging from the data were: the outdoor setting; the students' interest; the social interaction. From these central concepts, a conceptual model was developed. The outdoor setting allows for the freedom to explore, touch, smell and movement. This, in turn, leads to an increased interest in subject matter. As the students are exploring, they are enjoying themselves and become more open to learning. Interest leads to a desire to learn (Dewey, 1975). In addition to allowing the freedom to explore and move, the outdoor setting creates the condition for social interaction. The students talk to each other as they walk; they have in-depth discourse regarding the subject matter---with the teachers, each other and with the guides. The guides have an extremely important role in the students' learning. The more successful guides not only act as experts, but also adjust to the students' needs and act or speak accordingly. The

.... Coup found sourcing agents and helped develop GoLite's first 12-item product line. At the Outdoor Retailer Show last summer, Timberland did indeed manage to introduce several styles of its new GoLite brand trail running shoe...

Background Recent research has shown that neighborhood characteristics are associated with obesity prevalence. While food advertising in periodicals and television has been linked to overweight and obesity, it is unknown whether outdoor advertising is related to obesity. Methods To test the association between outdoor food advertising and obesity, we analyzed telephone survey data on adults, aged 18–98, collected from 220 census tracts in Los Angeles and Louisiana. We linked self-reported information on BMI and soda consumption with a database of directly observed outdoor advertisements. Results The higher the percentage of outdoor advertisements promoting food or non-alcoholic beverages within a census tract, the greater the odds of obesity among its residents, controlling for age, race and educational status. For every 10% increase in food advertising, there was a 1.05 (95% CI 1.003 - 1.093, padvertising and overweight/obesity. PMID:23305548

The radiometric calibration of remote sensors is a basis and prerequisite of information quantification in remote sensing. This paper proposes a method for outdoor relative radiometric calibration using gray scale targets. In this method, the idea of two substitutions is adopted. Sunlight is used to replace the integrating sphere light source, and gray scale targets are used to re-place the diffuser. In this way, images at different radiance levels obtained outdoors can calculate the relative radiometric cali-bration coefficients using the least square method. The characteristics of this method are as follows. Firstly, compared with la-boratory calibration, it greatly reduces the complexity of the calibration method and the test cost. Secondly, compared with the existing outdoor relative radiometric calibration of a single radiance level, it uses test images of different radiance levels to re-duce errors. Thirdly, it is easy to operate with fewer environmental requirements, has obvious advantages in the rapid calibra-tion of airborne remote sensors before or after flight and is practical in engineering. This paper theoretically and experimental-ly proves the feasibility of this method. Calibration experiments were conducted on the wide-view multispectral imager (WVMI) using this method, and the precision of this method was evaluated by analyzing the corrected images of large uniform targets on ground. The experiment results have demonstrated that the new method is effective and its precision meets the re-quirement of the absolute radiometric calibration.

Elevated outdoor ambient air particle pollution triggers heart attacks, strokes, and abnormal heart rhythms and worsens heart failure in individuals at high risk due to underlying medical conditions. Emergency Medical Services in communities are the first responders to these eme...

Full Text Available Global Positioning Systems (GPS) provide an effective means of outdoor localisation. Unfortunately they are subject to a variety of errors, particularly in cluttered environments where GPS signal is not always available. Whilst GPS positional...

The benefists of outdoor recreation and the need for recreation inventories and monitoring are described in various policy and legislation documents at the European level. The objective of this paper is to analyse how these recreational aspects are reflected at the national level in core forest...... in the field of outdoor recreation, and reveal similarities, differences, gaps and future needs. Among the main findings is a contradiction between the expressed political importance of outdoor recreation at the national level, and the absence of binding commitments for action. The majority of the countries...... surveyed recognise and express outdoor recreation in some form of political and/or legislative way. However, recreation monitoring or measurements are rarely mentioned in relevant policies or acts at the national, regional or local level, perhaps due to a l ack of political will or resources. The analysis...

Longitudinal studies now confirm the economic, academic, and social importance of high-quality early childhood education. At the same time, a substantial body of research indicates that an outdoor learning and play environment with diverse natural elements advances and enriches all of the domains relevant to the development, health, and well-being…

A robust charge-coupled device (CCD) photoelectric autocollimator for outdoor use is designed and demonstrated. The influence of outdoor conditions on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and imaging quality of the measuring system is experimentally analyzed. The pulse width modulation technology is applied to the automatic feedback control of the actively regulated illuminating light source of the measuring system to maximize SNR while avoiding image saturation. A Fourier phase shift method for subpixel estimation is adopted to achieve high-accuracy measurement in the presence of noises. Experimental results indicate that the technologies proposed here largely improve the measuring stability, dynamic range, and accuracy of the CCD photoelectric autocollimator used outdoors.%@@ A robust charge-coupled device(CCD)photoelectric autocollimator for outdoor use is designed and demonstrated.The influence of outdoor conditions on the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)and imaging quality of the measuring system is experimentally analyzed.The pulse width modulation technology is applied to the automatic feedback control of the actively regulated illuminating light source of the measuring system to maximize SNR while avoiding image saturation.A Fourier phase shift method for subpixel estimation is adopted to achieve high-accuracy measurement in the presence of noises.Experimental results indicate that the technologies proposed here largely improve the measuring stability,dynamic range,and accuracy of the CCD photoelectric autocollimator used outdoors.

Bird droppings are often quoted as a decay agent for outdoor goods, in particular buildings and statues. Undoubtedly, they represent one of the major causes of aesthetic damage on outdoor materials, but the real chemical damage they are able to induce, in particular on metals, is not so well studied. This work focused on the short term role of uric acid, the main constituent of bird urine, with respect to copper, which make such an important contribution to architectural elements of buildings and outdoor sculpture. Preliminary results of laboratory tests and analyses on real exposed samples showed that uric acid chemically affects copper and bronzes: the surface of the metal is modified and copper urates formed. Also natural patina, formed on statues and roof, react with uric acid, even if it seems to afford some protection toward bird droppings. In general, experimental results confirm that the potential chemical damage by bird droppings is significant when considering external cultural heritage such as statues, metal monuments and buildings with historic copper roofs.

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that coarse particles (PM 10-2.5) have detrimental impacts upon health, especially for respiratory effects. There are limited data available for indoor residential exposures. Some data exist regarding the composition of this PM size fraction with emphasis on crustal elements and biological components. This study includes data from 146 homes sampled in Regina, Saskatchewan (SK) where 5-day integrated concurrent monitoring of indoor and outdoor coarse particles was conducted during the winter and summer of 2007. The coarse particle filters were subsequently analysed for endotoxin content to determine the contribution of this compound. Winter indoor geometric mean concentrations of coarse particles exceeded outdoor concentrations (3.73 μg m -3 vs 2.49 μg m -3; paired t-test p Endotoxin concentrations (EU μg -1) were lower indoors than outdoors in both seasons. Spatial variability of ambient coarse particles was assessed to determine the suitability of using a single monitoring station within a city to estimate exposure. The coefficients of variation between homes sampled simultaneously and the central monitoring station were calculated (median COV in summer = 15% and winter = 24%) and showed significant variability by week, especially during the summer months, suggesting a single site may be insufficient for characterizing exposure. Future studies should consider daily measurements per home to understand shorter term exposures and day to day variability of these pollutants.

Full Text Available Physical activity (PA provides health benefits in older adults. Research suggests that exposure to nature and time spent outdoors may also have effects on health. Older adults are the least active segment of our population, and are likely to spend less time outdoors than other age groups. The relationship between time spent in PA, outdoor time, and various health outcomes was assessed for 117 older adults living in retirement communities. Participants wore an accelerometer and GPS device for 7 days. They also completed assessments of physical, cognitive, and emotional functioning. Analyses of variance were employed with a main and interaction effect tested for ±30 min PA and outdoor time. Significant differences were found for those who spent >30 min in PA or outdoors for depressive symptoms, fear of falling, and self-reported functioning. Time to complete a 400 m walk was significantly different by PA time only. QoL and cognitive functioning scores were not significantly different. The interactions were also not significant. This study is one of the first to demonstrate the feasibility of using accelerometer and GPS data concurrently to assess PA location in older adults. Future analyses will shed light on potential causal relationships and could inform guidelines for outdoor activity.

Recently, composite insulators have been increasingly employed mainly from the economic viewpoint. We have been developed new type outdoor termination with composite insulator, which can be installed horizontally on the steel tower, in order to reduce the construction cost. In this outdoor termination, SF6 gas is filled in the composite insulator and a cold shrinkable pre-molded rubber unit is applied instead of the combinational use of rubber-molded stress relief cone, epoxy resin insulator and spring unit. The application of composite insulator, SF6 gas and cold shrinkable pre-molded rubber unit lights the total weight and makes it possible to install horizontally on the tower. The composite insulator type outdoor termination for 77kV XLPE cable has already applied as commercial use and enabled to reduce the construction cost of power transmission lines. A 154kV new type outdoor termination has been developed and successfully completed the initial electrical test. This paper describes the design and performance of both 77kV and 154kV new type outdoor termination, and the follow-up survey of 77kV outdoor termination in the commercial power transmission line.

The efficiency of a PPG flat-plate solar collector was evaluated utilizing an outdoor solar collector test facility at the NASA-Lewis Research Center, as part of the National Bureau of Standards 'round robin' collector test program. The correlation equation for collector thermal efficiency Eta curve fit of the data was: Eta = 0.666 - 1.003(Btu/hr-sq ft-F) Theta, where the parameter Theta is the difference between the average fluid temperature and the ambient temperature, all divided by the total flux impinging on the collector.

Describes an outdoor summer science program for Seneca Indian children in grades 5-7 that featured weekly outdoor topics integrating science, traditional Native American/Seneca culture, and skills in reading and language arts. Daily activities included field trips, community guests, storytelling, and individual and group projects. (LP)

Outdoor experiential education (OEE) programs often cater to white, upper-class individuals. With major demographic shifts occurring in the United States, OEE organizations are confronting this imbalance. The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is addressing this issue with its Gateway Scholarship Program. The purpose of this mixed-methods…

To develop a fitness tracker (FitSight) to encourage children to increase time spent outdoors. To evaluate the wear pattern for this tracker and outdoor time pattern by estimating light illumination levels among children. The development of the FitSight fitness tracker involved the designing of two components: (1) the smartwatch with custom-made FitSight watch application (app) to log the instant light illuminance levels the wearer is exposed to, and (2) a companion smartphone app that synchronizes the time outdoors recorded by the smartwatch to smartphone via Bluetooth communication. Smartwatch wear patterns and tracker-recorded daily light illuminance levels data were gathered over 7 days from 23 Singapore children (mean ± standard deviation age: 9.2 ± 1.4 years). Feedback about the tracker was obtained from 14 parents using a three-level rating scale: very poor/poor/good. Of the 14 parents, 93% rated the complete "FitSight fitness tracker" as good and 64% rated its wearability as good. While 61% of 23 children wore the watch on all study days (i.e., 0 nonwear days), 26% had 1 nonwear day, and 4.5% children each had 3, 4, and 5 nonwear days, respectively. On average, children spent approximately 1 hour in light levels greater than 1000 lux on weekdays and 1.3 hours on weekends (60 ± 46 vs. 79 ± 53 minutes, P = 0.19). Mean number of outdoor "spurts" (light illuminance levels >1000 lux) per day was 8 ± 3 spurts with spurt duration of 34 ± 32 minutes. The FitSight tracker with its novel features may motivate children to increase time outdoors and play an important role in supplementing community outdoor programs to prevent myopia. If the developed noninvasive, wearable, smartwatch-based fitness tracker, FitSight, promotes daytime outdoor activity among children, it will be beneficial in addressing the epidemic of myopia.

Full Text Available The important of outdoor physical environment to the development of children can never be questioned, since children spend large amount of their time outdoor as compared to adults. Children are vulnerable to their conditions of the physical environment and its quality affects their overall behavior patterns. Children are well known to play everywhere and play with everything. But for urban children, their movement and their play opportunities are often restricted by traffic and unsafe environment. Today the provision of children outdoorplay areas i.e children playgrounds or open spaces, has become integrated into the planning process in most of our residential development. How well it is furnished is an indication of the value that society places on children development. We are fortunate to have such services but are they conducive enough to cater the need for children or do they meet their expectations' This paper discusses the existing children outdoor facilities developed out of local planning practices. Do these facilities held the potential for our children's physical development' How would the children benefits from their playing environment' Are children happy with their play spaces or do parents concern about their children play opportunity' The paper examines the need to create a more conducive play space beyond the quantitative preferences and guidelines. It further highlights the need for community participation in creating a more functionalized playground.

Full Text Available Through using school-based outdoor learning as the research context, the paper analyses the connections between bodily experiences and the embodied mind. Recent theorizing in outdoor learning, in reflecting phenomenology and Deweyian influences, has teased out how the relationships between the self, others and nature (environment can be extended to include embodied experiences. This would, it is argued, add something extra to either the intrinsic pursuit of enjoying practical experiences or the instrumental quest for subject knowledge gains via cognitive- informed analytical cycles of action and reflection. While generally sympathetic to this critique, we consider there is a cognitive and emotional need for embodied experiences to demonstrate that they can be suitably contemplative as well. Through drawing upon Tiberius (2008 naturalist-informed theorizing, the paper reviews the part bodily experiences in outdoor learning can play in cultivating stable values and in developing reasoning practices that provide insights into how personal responsibility can be exercised in relation to how we live. Through referencing the Scottish policy context, the paper exemplifies how learning outdoors can flourish on the basis of a joint body-mind focus; where pupils review their relations with others and nature, as well as valuing times when they are absorbed in experiences which fully engage their personal interests, skills and capacities. To enhance the prospects of these learning gains occurring we provide a self-check set of questions for teachers to review to as part of appraisal of learning and teaching outdoors

This article examines the characteristic of affordances of different outdoor environments, related to the influences of children's physical activity levels. Qualitative observation studies in a Norwegian kindergarten were conducted of 3- to 5-year-olds into the natural environment and in the kindergarten's outdoor area. An ecological approach was important from both an analytical and theoretical point of view, using concepts from Gibson's (The ecological approach to visual perception. Houghton Mifflin Company, Bosten, 1979) theory of affordances. The concepts of affordances in an environment can explain children's movement behaviour. The findings reveal that situations with high physical activity levels among the children are more often created in natural environments than in the kindergarten's outdoor environment. Natural environments offer potential qualities that are a catalyst for physical activity. The study shows that certain characteristic of the physical outdoor environment are important for children's opportunities and inspiration for physical active play. The findings also show that social possibilities and opportunities, human interactions, in the environment have the greatest influence on the duration and intensity of physically active play. The need for knowledge on physical and social opportunities in outdoor environments, educational practice and the content of outdoor time in kindergartens should be given greater attention.

The aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performances of outdoor unit with two different types of grille have been investigated in present study. Experimental results indicate that the grille sharp will affect the flow rate and increase broadband noise level of outdoor unit. Based on noise generation mechanism and CFD simulation, vortex shedding noise model and inlet turbulence noise model are adopted to predict the broadband noise level of outdoor unit. When vortex shedding noise is concerned, the wake parameters should be calculated at 3 mm downstream of grille to achieve good accuracy. Inlet turbulence noise is generated from the interaction between blade wake and the grille, and plays less important role in present outdoor unit configuration. In comparison with experimental results, it is shown that the broadband noise prediction method could provide reasonable accuracy and the error between prediction and experiment is less than 1 dBA. (author)

This research documents the use of digital media by young children in outdoorplay spaces. The research was conducted at a child care center on an urban university campus in the southeastern USA. The research employed a participatory design and used a qualitative, reflexive approach to include the child's voice, ideas, and understandings of their…

Full Text Available ResumenUno de los aspectos más atractivos que tiene el outdoor training es su supuesta capacidad para conseguir que los aprendizajes obtenidos a través de sus actividades sean transferidos a otros ámbitos de la vida personal y profesional de sus participantes. En este sentido, la clave está en la metodología empleada. Este artículo profundiza en las fases que estructuran el proceso formativo del outdoor training describiendo: 1 las bases folosóficas que lo apoyan y que están expresadas en la teoría de la “educación a través de la experiencia” y 2 las diferentes fases que estructuran el proceso de formación de un outdoor, haciendo una descripción en profundidad de cada una de ellas: a Pre-Outdoor (Análisis y valoración de las necesidades, diseño de la actividad y reunión previa a la actividad, b Outdoor, c Post-outdoor (Reflexión y transferencia, y d Seguimiento posterior.AbstractOne of the most attractive aspects that has the outdoor training is their supposed capacity to get that the learnings obtained through their activities are transferred to other environments of the personal life and their participants' professional. In this sense, the key is in the used methodology. This article deepens in the phases that structure the formative process of the outdoor training describing: 1 the philosophy´s bases that support this process and that are expressed in the theory of experiential education, and 2 the different phases that structure the process of formation of an outdoor, making a description in depth of each one of them: to Pre-Outdoor (Analysis and valuation of the necessities, design of the activity and previous meeting to the activity, b Outdoor, c Post-outdoor (Reflection and transfer, and d Later Pursuit.

Since its launch on the market, Microsoft Kinect sensor has represented a great revolution in the field of low cost navigation, especially for indoor robotic applications. In fact, this system is endowed with a depth camera, as well as a visual RGB camera, at a cost of about 200. The characteristics and the potentiality of the Kinect sensor have been widely studied for indoor applications. The second generation of this sensor has been announced to be capable of acquiring data even outdoors, under direct sunlight. The task of navigating passing from an indoor to an outdoor environment (and vice versa) is very demanding because the sensors that work properly in one environment are typically unsuitable in the other one. In this sense the Kinect could represent an interesting device allowing bridging the navigation solution between outdoor and indoor. In this work the accuracy and the field of application of the new generation of Kinect sensor have been testedoutdoor, considering different lighting conditions and the reflective properties of the emitted ray on different materials. Moreover, an integrated system with a low cost GNSS receiver has been studied, with the aim of taking advantage of the GNSS positioning when the satellite visibility conditions are good enough. A kinematic test has been performed outdoor by using a Kinect sensor and a GNSS receiver and it is here presented.

Both indoor and outdoor sources of air pollution have significant public health impacts in Europe. Based on quantitative modelling of the burden of disease the outdoor sources dominate the impacts by a clear margin.......Both indoor and outdoor sources of air pollution have significant public health impacts in Europe. Based on quantitative modelling of the burden of disease the outdoor sources dominate the impacts by a clear margin....

Outdoor farrowing huts facilitate a less restricted maternal behaviour in sows compared with sows kept indoors in farrowing pens. The aim of our study was to investigate whether there are behavioural differences between primiparous sows kept outdoors in farrowing huts and indoors in pens, and whether the maternal behaviour during the second parity, when all sows were kept outdoors in farrowing huts, would differ between sows that have experienced the indoor or the outdoor environment, respectively, during their first parturition. A total of 26 Yorkshire×Swedish Landrace sows were studied. Of these, 11 sows were housed outdoors in farrowing huts during both parturitions (group=OUTOUT). The other 15 sows were kept indoors in a barn with single farrowing pens during their first parturition. During their second parturition, sows were kept outdoors in farrowing huts (group=INOUT). The behaviour was video recorded from 2 h prepartum to 48 h postpartum. The sows' responsiveness to playbacks of a piglet's screams was tested on days 2 to 3 postpartum. Parity 1: during the last 2 h prepartum, OUTOUT sows had a higher proportion of observations in the sternal lying position (Pbehavioural differences between INOUT and OUTOUT sows. In conclusion, it is not problematic for a second parity sow with initial maternal experience from an indoor farrowing pen to be kept outdoors in farrowing huts during its following farrowing.

CBS Outdoor used a tachistoscope to determine how long it takes to recognize the brand/product advertised in 187 outdoor posters in the Netherlands. Additionally, CBS Outdoor measured the creative appeal of these advertisements. Using 80 content and format variables, an explanatory model was develop

Can teachers of young children create stimulating and enriching outdoor environments that are also safe? This article highlights early childhood outdoor safety standards and presents a framework for creating quality and SAFE™ outdoor environments in early childhood programs that support children's interest and best practice. The outdoor…

CBS Outdoor used a tachistoscope to determine how long it takes to recognize the brand/product advertised in 187 outdoor posters in the Netherlands. Additionally, CBS Outdoor measured the creative appeal of these advertisements. Using 80 content and format variables, an explanatory model was

Although educators and philosophers such as Johann Amos Comenius, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Froebel stressed the study of nature, outdoor education really began with the first teaching-learning act which occurred outdoors. The human being, physiologically and psychologically adapted for outdoor existence, has only been indoors for…

Outdoor recreation and tourism represents a major service by which the public identifies with and better understands natural resources, even to the extent that it can foster environmental stewardship (for example, see Winter and Chavez 2008). Yet, myriad threats to recreation and tourism exist which need to be addressed. Addressing these threats can be...

Since the early nineties, lifestyle sports such as surfing, snowboarding and skydiving are on a large scale offered in artificial sport environments. In snow domes, on artificial white water courses, in climbing halls and in wind tunnels, these alternative outdoor sports are accessible for a broad a

Responses of 75 expert outdoor leaders from Canada and the United States concerning leadership in 12 hypothetical backpacking scenarios provided partial support for a theory that predicted probability of leadership style (democratic, autocratic, or abdicratic) based on favorability of conditions, task orientation, and relationship orientation.…

Crafting experiences, such as paddle making, fit in with the ideals and goals of outdoor and experiential education and can be linked to environmental education by creating environmental consciousness. Crafting a canoe paddle from harvested materials directly engages students with the land and can lead to reflection on material objects, patterns…

This curriculum guide for the Plano Intermediate School District (Texas) Outdoor Learning Center is divided into three major sections. Section I provides information on the numbered stations/posts found along the perimeter and inner trails of the center and includes brief comments on the philosophy of environmental education and the history…

Since the early nineties, lifestyle sports such as surfing, snowboarding and skydiving are on a large scale offered in artificial sport environments. In snow domes, on artificial white water courses, in climbing halls and in wind tunnels, these alternative outdoor sports are accessible for a broad

Over the last 15 years, the body of literature surrounding the subject of social capital has witnessed steady growth. While sociologists have extensively discussed how social capital can be created and sustained within local communities and national contexts, there is little evidence of the social capital discourse within the outdoor education…

Jseums are joining the field in using the outdoors as a class- room and the experience of the ... teachers are clarified. A museum is perhaps one of the best places to teach .... (This request was based on a number of recommendations that ...

There is a strong emphasis on sensory perception and "hands-on" learning in the outdoor environmental education of children. In addition, normative concerns infuse children's environmental curricula, and in particular, the notion that environmental education is not a passive undertaking; when one appreciates the essential value of the…

Rarely do outdoor educators get the opportunity to safely incorporate an avalanche while the topic of the day is actually avalanche awareness and forecasting. Many similar possibilities exist in the expeditionary context, but even brief excursions may result in incredible learning experiences. These "teachable moments" occur regularly in the…

The essential guide for enjoying the outdoors without harming the environment. - Details the seven core principles of Leave No Trace ethics and practices - Covers hiking, campfires, food storage, and personal hygiene - Endorsed by the USDI National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and the USDA Forest Service

Providing the right amount of light where and when it is needed is an opportunity to transform todays cities into smart and livable urban spaces. New technologies are being introduced, such are adaptivecontrols and outdoor lighting networks, which can deliver energy andcost savings through adaptive

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent research has shown that neighborhood characteristics are associated with obesity prevalence. While food advertising in periodicals and television has been linked to overweight and obesity, it is unknown whether outdoor advertising is related to obesity. Methods To test the association between outdoor food advertising and obesity, we analyzed telephone survey data on adults, aged 18–98, collected from 220 census tracts in Los Angeles and Louisiana. We linked self-reported information on BMI and soda consumption with a database of directly observed outdoor advertisements. Results The higher the percentage of outdoor advertisements promoting food or non-alcoholic beverages within a census tract, the greater the odds of obesity among its residents, controlling for age, race and educational status. For every 10% increase in food advertising, there was a 1.05 (95% CI 1.003 - 1.093, p Conclusions There is a relationship between the percentage of outdoor food advertising and overweight/obesity.

In this study a critical analysis of input parameters on a model to describe the broth temperature in flat plate photobioreactors throughout the day is carried out in order to assess the effect of these parameters on the model. Using the design of experiment approach, variation of selected parameters was introduced and the influence of each parameter on the broth temperature was evaluated by a parametric sensitivity analysis. The results show that the major influence on the broth temperature is that from the reactor wall and the shading factor, both related to the direct and reflected solar irradiation. Other parameter which play an important role on the temperature is the distance between plates. This study provides information to improve the design and establish the most appropriate operating conditions for the cultivation of microalgae in outdoor systems.

Full Text Available Internet gaming disorder is currently listed in the DSM—not in order to diagnose such a disorder but to encourage research to investigate this phenomenon. Even whether it is still questionable if Internet Gaming Disorder exists and can be judged as a form of addiction, problematic game play is already very well researched to cause problems in daily life. Approaches trying to predict problematic tendencies in digital game play have mainly focused on playing time as a diagnostic criterion. However, motives to engage in digital game play and obsessive passion for game play have also been found to predict problematic game play but have not yet been investigated together. The present study aims at (1 analyzing if obsessive passion can be distinguished from problematic game play as separate concepts, and (2 testing motives of game play, passion, and playing time for their predictive values for problematic tendencies. We found (N = 99 males, Age: M = 22.80, SD = 3.81 that obsessive passion can be conceptually separated from problematic game play. In addition, the results suggest that compared to solely playing time immersion as playing motive and obsessive passion have added predictive value for problematic game play. The implications focus on broadening the criteria in order to diagnose problematic playing.

The past 50 years have seen rapid development of new building materials, furnishings, and consumer products and a corresponding explosion in new chemicals in the built environment. While exposure levels are largely undocumented, they are likely to have increased as a wider variety of chemicals came into use, people began spending more time indoors, and air exchange rates decreased to improve energy efficiency. As a result of weak regulatory requirements for chemical safety testing, only limited toxicity data are available for these chemicals. Over the past 15 years, some chemical classes commonly used in building materials, furnishings, and consumer products have been shown to be endocrine disrupting chemicals - that is they interfere with the action of endogenous hormones. These include PCBs, used in electrical equipment, caulking, paints and surface coatings; chlorinated and brominated flame retardants, used in electronics, furniture, and textiles; pesticides, used to control insects, weeds, and other pests in agriculture, lawn maintenance, and the built environment; phthalates, used in vinyl, plastics, fragrances, and other products; alkylphenols, used in detergents, pesticide formulations, and polystyrene plastics; and parabens, used to preserve products like lotions and sunscreens. This paper summarizes reported indoor and outdoor air concentrations, chemical use and sources, and toxicity data for each of these chemical classes. While industrial and transportation-related pollutants have been shown to migrate indoors from outdoor sources, it is expected that indoor sources predominate for these consumer product chemicals; and some studies have identified indoor sources as the predominant factor influencing outdoor ambient air concentrations in densely populated areas. Mechanisms of action, adverse effects, and dose-response relationships for many of these chemicals are poorly understood and no systematic screening of common chemicals for endocrine disrupting

Full Text Available In this paper, a model of visual place cells (PCs based on precise neurobiological data is presented. The robustness of the model in real indoor and outdoor environments is tested. Results show that the interplay between neurobiological modelling and robotic experiments can promote the understanding of the neural structures and the achievement of robust robot navigation algorithms. Short Term Memory (STM, soft competition and sparse coding are important for both landmark identification and computation of PC activities. The extension of the paradigm to outdoor environments has confirmed the robustness of the vision-based model and pointed to improvements in order to further foster its performance.

Full Text Available This paper deals with the autonomous navigation problem of a mobile robot in outdoor road environments. The target application is surveillance in petroleum storage bases. Although there have been remarkable technological achievements recently in the area of outdoor navigation, robotic systems are still expensive due to a large number of high cost sensors. This paper proposes the reliable extraction algorithm of traversable regions using a single onboard Laser Range Finder (LRF in outdoor road environments. The traversable regions are derived from the classifications of the road surfaces, curbs, and obstacles. The proposed scheme was experimentally tested in success. Since there are many potential applications that require autonomous service robots to move in semistructured road environments, the proposed scheme can be widely used as a low-cost practical solution.

Full Text Available Well-designed housing systems are important from the viewpoint of animal welfare and improvement of meat production. In this study, we investigated the effects of outdoor housing of pigs on their behavior, cortisol levels, and meat characteristics. Two groups that were born and raised in a spacious outdoor pen (4×10 m for every two sows or a minimum-sized standard pen in a piggery (1.9×2.2 m for every sow were studied. When their behaviors at the age of 2 to 3 wk were observed, the number of rooting episodes tended to be larger (p = 0.0509 and the total time of rooting tended to be longer (p = 0.0640 in the outdoor-housed piglets although the difference was not significant. Basal salivary cortisol levels of the outdoor piglets at the age of 4 wk were significantly lower than those of the indoor piglets (5.0±0.59 ng/ml vs. 11.6±0.91 ng/ml, 30 min after treatment, although their plasma cortisol levels were similar (53.3±3.54 ng/ml vs. 59.9±4.84 ng/ml, 30 min after treatment. When the ears were pierced at weaning, plasma and salivary cortisol levels were increased in both groups, even at 15 min after piercing. However, the increase in the outdoor-housed group was significantly less than that in the indoor-housed group. Throughout their lives, body weight and daily gain of the pigs were not significantly different between the two groups. In a meat taste preference test taken by 20 panelists, saltiness, flavor, and color of the outdoor-housed pork were found to be more acceptable. Moreover, when an electronic taste-sensing device was utilized, the C00 and CPA-C00 outputs (3.78±0.07 and −0.20±0.023, which correspond to compounds of bitterness and smells, respectively, were significantly lower in the outdoor-housed pork (5.03±0.16 and −0.13±0.009. Our results demonstrate that the outdoor housing system for piglets induces natural behaviors such as rooting and suppresses the strongest stress reaction of piglets, which could be important

Objectives: Data on effective strategies to enforce policies banning outdoor smoking are sparse. This study tested the effects of an enforcement package implemented on a college campus. Participants: Thirty-nine observers recorded compliance of 709 outside smokers. Methods: Smoking within 25 feet of buildings was noncompliant. The intervention…

Crowdscience games may hold unique potentials as learning opportunities compared to games made for fun or education. They are part of an actual science problem solving process: By playing, players help scientists, and thereby interact with real continuous research processes. This mixes the two...... worlds of play and science in new ways. During usability testing we discovered that users of the crowdscience game Quantum Dreams tended to answer questions in game terms, even when directed explicitly to give science explanations. We then examined these competing frames of understanding though a mixed...... correlational and grounded theory analysis. This essay presents the core ideas of crowdscience games as learning opportunities, and reports how a group of players used “game”, “science” and “conceptual” frames to interpret their experience. Our results suggest that oscillating between the frames instead...

evidence that play and games could be interesting perspectives to take in order to understand complex social interaction. I come to the conclusion that – in innovation settings – the social dynamics that affect the process are essentially about transformation of knowledge across boundaries. I propose......„Play. Learn. Innovate. – Grasping the Social Dynamics of Participatory Innovation“ the title of this thesis describes how the complex interplay of unexpected events led to some burning questions and eventually to this thesis, which one could call an innovation*1*. During several years...... study were to better understand the theoretical foundations and practical implications of complex social interaction in organizational innovation settings. As I did not find any existing models or hypotheses that I was interested in testing I set out to discover how I could grasp complex social...

was from the amazing Dr Anthony Lewis Brooks (aka Tony) who has conceived the concepts GameAbilitation, ArtAbilitation, and Ludic Engagement Designs for All. While presenting some of his work on GameAbilitation and ArtAbilitation he brought up the subject of conducting research with users with disabilities......, about what happens to our users when research is over, funds are gone and the curtain of experiments has fallen. Dr Brooks presented the case of a young user who while unable to move and communicate had to part with the test device that provided him with interactive playful experience. We’ve all been...... confined in a house. For researchers that work with people with disabilities and in my case with playful interactions and positive immersive experience, we might have to think harder when we write project proposals or sketch our methodology. Devices, software and experience should be available to the users...

Howard Gardner first posited a list of "multiple intelligences" as a liberating alternative to the assumptions underlying traditional IQ testing in his widely read study "Frames of Mind" (1983). Play has appeared only in passing in Gardner's thinking about intelligence, however, even though play instructs and trains the verbal, interpersonal,…

Full Text Available More than 60% of older Americans have sedentary lifestyles1 1 According to DHHS (1996. and are recommended more physical activities for health benefit. Nearby outdoor environments on residential sites may impact older inhabitants׳ physical activities there (defined as walking, gardening, yard work, and other outdoor physical activities on residential sites. This study surveyed 110 assisted-living residents in Houston, Texas, regarding their previous residential sites before moving to a retirement community and physical activities there. Twelve environmental features were studied under four categories (typology, motivators, function, and safety. Based on data availability, a subset of 57 sample sites was analyzed in Geographic Information Systems. Hierarchical linear modeling was applied to estimate physical activities as a function of the environments. Higher levels of physical activity were found to be positively related with four environmental features (transitional-areas, connecting-paths, walk-ability, and less paving.

Natural fires can be considered as scale-dependant, non-linear processes of mass, momentum and heat transport, resulting from a turbulent reactive and radiative fluid medium flowing over a complex medium, the vegetal fuel. In natural outdoor conditions, the experimental study of natural fires at real scale needs the development of an original metrology, one able to capture the large range of time and length scales involved in its dynamic nature and also able to resist the thermal, mechanical and chemical aggression of flames on devices. Robust, accurate and poorly intrusive tools must be carefully set-up and used for gaining very fluctuating data over long periods. These signals also need the development of original post-processing tools that take into account the non-steady nature of their stochastic components. Metrology for Fire Experiments in Outdoor Conditions closely analyzes these features, and also describes measurements techniques, the thermal insulation of fragile electronic systems, data acquisitio...

Mobility plays a major role in healthy aging and social participation. This study explored whether accessibility problems in the housing environment are negatively associated with mobility in old age and whether this association is moderated by differences in an individual's preference for spending time outside the home (outdoor motivation). This article reports the results of a research project on mobility in old age. The project included a survey study of 120 community-dwelling older adults between 59 and 92 years of age (mean = 71.7 years, SD = 7.3 years) living in the metropolitan region of Nuremberg, Germany. Objective assessments were conducted in the participants' housing environment to evaluate the magnitude of accessibility problems. Accessibility problems were negatively associated with mobility. Interaction analyses suggested a buffering effect of outdoor motivation on this association, i.e. participants who reported a preference for spending time outside the home had a higher mobility in the face of accessibility problems as compared with those who preferred staying at home. Outdoor motivation may have protective effects for older adults when accessibility problems challenge mobility. These findings contribute to improving the understanding of how and under what circumstances older adults stay mobile and active in everyday life. Considering interindividual differences in outdoor motivation may binterventions and public health programs that are aimed at enhancing mobility and social participation in old age.

An accurate method is needed for determining cell temperature when measuring CPV modules outdoors. It has been suggested that cell temperature can be calculated though a procedure that shutters sunlight to the cells while measuring the transients in open-circuit voltage (Voc) and heat sink temperature. This presentation documents application of this shutter procedure to multiple CPV modules at NREL. The challenges and limitations are presented along with an alternate approach to measuring CPV cell operating temperature.

In urban public outdoor space, the possibility to define multi-functional islands, to create "fusion" of socialization, leisure and work spaces ‒ for example lounges with wireless connectivity, quiet corners to work as well as areas for socializing and relax … ‒ reduces isolation and increases innovation opportunities. The development of electronic live/work areas and villages is becoming an attractive option for the rehabilitation of open space in historic and postindustrial cities. There ar...

Lighting strongly influences human daily activities. Smart lighting emerged as new generation of lighting system, able to precisely address the specific needs. Under conditions of shortage in fossil fuels and high prices for energy, smart lighting enables design of lighting systems, which can efficiently use power resources without compromising the user experience. The paper describes implementation of outdoor lighting solution targeting energy efficiency. The proposed approach takes holistic...

International audience; In this paper, a complete system for outdoor robot navigation is presented. It uses only monocular vision. The robot is first guided on a path by a human. During this learning step, the robot records a video sequence. From this sequence, a three dimensional map of the trajectory and the environment is built. When this map has been computed, the robot is able to follow the same trajectory by itself. Experimental results carried out with an urban electric vehicle are sho...

Full Text Available Many amateur sportsmen in the West, have today started undertaking long and intensive ordeals where their personal capacity to withstand increasing suffering is the prime objective. Running, jogging, triathlon and trekking, etc., are the sorts of ordeal where people without any particular ability are not pitting themselves against others, but are committed to testing their own capacity to withstand increasing pain. Constantly called upon to prove themselves in a society where reference points are both countless and contradictory and where values are in crisis, people are now seeking a one-to-one relationship by radical means, testing their strength of character, their courage and their personal resources. Going right on to the end of a self-imposed ordeal gives a legitimacy to life and provides a symbolic plank that supports them. Performance itself is of secondary significance; it is has a value only to the individual. There is no struggle against a third party, only a method for reinforcing personal will-power and overcoming suffering by going right to the limit of a personally-imposed demand. The physical limit has come to replace the moral limit that present-day society is failing to provide. Overcoming suffering tempers the individual, providing a renewed significance and value to his life

Full Text Available Effective model for scene classification is essential, to access the desired images from large scale databases. This study presents an efficient scene classification approach by integrating low level features, to reduce the semantic gap between the visual features and richness of human perception. The objective of the study is to categorize an image into indoor or outdoor scene using relevant low level features such as color and texture. The color feature from HSV color model, texture feature through GLCM and entropy computed from UV color space forms the feature vector. To support automatic scene classification, Support Vector Machine (SVM is implemented on low level features for categorizing a scene into indoor/outdoor. Since the combination of these image features exhibit a distinctive disparity between images containing indoor or outdoor scenes, the proposed method achieves better performance in terms of classification accuracy of about 92.44%. The proposed method has been evaluated on IITM- SCID2 (Scene Classification Image Database and dataset of 3442 images collected from the web.

The thermal management of an outdoor electronic enclosure can be quite challenging due to the additional thermal load from the sun and the requirement of having an air-sealed enclosure. It is essential to consider the effect of solar heating loads in the design process; otherwise, it can shorten the life expectancy of the electronic product or lead to catastrophic failure. In this paper we analyze and compare the effectiveness of different cooling techniques used for outdoor electronics. Various cooling techniques were compared like special coatings and paints on the outer surface, radiation shields, double-walled vented enclosures, fans for internal air circulation and air-to-air heat exchangers. A highly simplified, typical outdoor system was selected for this study measuring approximately 300x300x400 mm (WxLxH). Solar radiation was incident on 3 sides of the enclosure. There were 8 equally spaced PCBs inside the enclosure dissipating 12.5W each uniformly (100 watts total). A computational fluid dynamics (C...

In this paper, we contrast the early childhood education and care aims and curriculum in Norway and Australia and the theoretical underpinnings of Norwegian and Australian pedagogy in an attempt to partially explain the different approaches to (risky) outdoorplay in these two countries. We argue that Norwegian pedagogical approaches may allow…

Children, especially in the preschool years, learn a tremendous amount through play. Research on guided play demonstrates how schools can couple a curriculum-centered preschool program with a developmentally appropriate pedagogical approach to classroom teaching. However, to fully test this claim, we need a clear definition of the term…

The interest on outdoor photocatalytic materials is growing in the last years. Nevertheless, most of the experimental devices designed for the assessment of their performance operate at controlled laboratory conditions, i.e., pollutant concentration, temperature, UV irradiation, and water vapor contents, far from those of real outdoor environments. The aim of the present study was the design and development of an experimental device for the continuous test of photocatalytic outdoor materials under sun irradiation using real outdoor air as feed, with the concomitant fluctuation of pollutant concentration, temperature, and water vapor content. A three-port measurement system based on two UV-transparent chambers was designed and built. A test chamber contained the photoactive element and a reference chamber to place the substrate without the photoactive element were employed. The third sampling point, placed outdoors, allowed the characterization of the surrounding air, which feeds the test chambers. Temperature, relative humidity (RH), and UV-A irradiance were monitored at each sampling point with specific sensors. NO x concentration was measured by a chemiluminescence NO x analyzer. Three automatic valves allowed the consecutive analysis of the concentration at the three points at fixed time intervals. The reliability of the analytical system was demonstrated by comparing the NO x concentration data with those obtained at the nearest weather station to the experimental device location. The use of a chamber-based reaction system leads to an attenuation of NO x and atmospheric parameter profiles, but maintaining the general trends. The air characterization results showed the wide operating window under which the photoactive materials should work outdoors, depending on the traffic intensity and the season, which are reproduced inside the test chambers. The designed system allows the measurement of the photoactivity of outdoor materials or the comparison of several

Phosphine fumigation trials were carried out on bag-stacks of paddy rice to study the differences in gas loss rates and concentration-time (Ct) products achieved during the treatment of indoor and outdoor stacks. Stacks (89-132t) were fumigated singly under 250&mgr;m thick polyethylene sheeting, which was sealed with a double layer of sand-snakes to the concrete floor. Phosphine was applied as an aluminium phosphide formulation and the fumigations continued for 7 days. In the first experiment, stacks of paddy rice with moisture contents ranging from 12.2 to 13.7% were held in either indoor or in outdoor storage and subjected to fumigation at the rate of 2, 3 or 4g of phosphine/tonne. The outdoor stacks held relatively low levels of phosphine with Ct products for the indoor stacks of 135, 171 and 294gh/m(3), respectively, whilst the corresponding values for the outdoor stacks were 70, 85 and 166gh/m(3) only. The average gas loss rate was 14.5% per day for the indoor stacks and 29.5% for the outdoor stacks. In the second experiment, old stacks of paddy rice inside a godown, one each with grains at 8.8 and 9.8% moisture content, were fumigated at 3g phosphine/tonne. Release of phosphine was delayed and fumigant sorption was less and therefore higher Ct products of 204 and 216gh/m(3) were achieved. In the stacks built outdoors, the resident infestations of Rhyzopertha dominica, Cryptolestes sp. and Oryzaephilus surinamensis were completely controlled despite lower Ct products. On the other hand, in the stacks of old paddy, R. dominica survived the treatment. Subsequent testing showed that the population had a degree of resistance to phosphine.

This paper focuses on limit setting in play therapy with first-generation Mexican-American children in two important therapeutic environments that include the traditional indoor playroom and a proposed outdoorplay area. The paper is based on a review of the literature and the authors' clinical experiences with this population. They concluded…

Men are less likely than women to test for HIV and engage in HIV care and treatment. We conducted in-depth interviews with men participating in One Man Can (OMC) - a rights-based gender equality and health programme intervention conducted in rural Limpopo and Eastern Cape, South Africa - to explore masculinity-related barriers to HIV testing/care/treatment and how participation in OMC impacted on these. Men who participated in OMC reported an increased capability to overcome masculinity-related barriers to testing/care/treatment. They also reported increased ability to express vulnerability and discuss HIV openly with others, which led to greater willingness to be tested for HIV and receive HIV care and treatment for those who were living with HIV. Interventions that challenge masculine norms and promote gender equality (i.e. gender-transformative interventions) represent a promising new approach to address men's barriers to testing, care and treatment.

Tests with a dynamically similar model of the Navy XP4M-1 airplane were made to determine the best way to land the airplane in calm and rough water, to determine its probable ditching performance, and to determine practicable modifications which could be incorporated in the design of the airplane that would improve its ditching characteristics. The results were obtained by making visual observations, by recording longitudinal decelerations,a nd by taking motion pictures of the landings. A list of conclusions from the test results is included.

One of the principal challenges for large scale production of microalgae is the high costs of biomass production. Aiming for minimize this problem, microalgal biodiesel production should focus on outdoors cultures, using available solar light and allowing lower energy cost process. Testing species that proved to be common and easy to culture may be a good approach in this process. The present work reports indoor-outdoor cultures of Phaeodactylum tricornutum using different bioreactors types, using cell growth, biochemical composition, and the profiles of the fatty acids produced as the parameters to test the optimization processes. The results show that the use of outdoor cultures is a good choice to obtain P. tricornutum biomass with a good potential for biodiesel production. The microalgae produced reached better growth efficiency, major lipid content and showed an increment in the percentage of saturated fatty acids (required on the biodiesel production) respect indoor cultures. These results are important to show the relevance of using outdoor cultures as a way to improve the efficiency and the energetic balance of the biodiesel production with P. tricornutum algae.

International audience; The goal of an outdoor augmented reality system is to allow the human operator to move freely without restraint in its environment, to view and interact in real time with geo-referenced data via mobile wireless devices. This requires proposing new techniques for 3D localization, visualization and 3D interaction, adapted to working conditions in outdoor environment (brightness variation, features of displays used, etc.). This paper surveys recent advances in outdoor aug...

The article draws on a doctoral study of young peoples’ participation in organised friluftsliv and outdoor education in Denmark and New Zealand. The research questions concentrate on views of nature, values and general characteristics in friluftsliv and outdoor education. The results are based...... on a qualitative approach using case study design with interviews and observations. For the analysis, ethnological cultural analysis was employed combined with configuration analysis to conceptualise the data. Theories and concepts of space and place in outdoor education in New Zealand are discussed. Results from...... the empirical studies on outdoor education in New Zealand are discussed and compared to the cultural perspective of friluftsliv in Denmark....

Sand play commonly occupies children at preschools, child-development centers, and school and park playgrounds. The authors review the research on sand play and present a small study on outdoor sand play conducted at a university-based, child-development center using a method they call "facilitated-action research." This study had four…

Full Text Available The purposes of this article is to explore knowledge of outdoor thermal comfort in humid tropical environment for urban activities especially for people in walking activity, and those who stationary/seated with moderate action. It will be characterized the pair influence of wind speed and radiant temperature on the outdoor thermal comfort. Many of researchers stated that those two microclimate variables give significant role on outdoor thermal comfort in tropical humid area. Outdoor Tropical Comfort (OTC model was used for simulation in this study. The model output is comfort scale that refers on ASHRAE definition. The model consists of two regression equations with variables of air temperature, globe temperature, wind speed, humidity and body posture, for two types of activity: walking and seated. From the results it can be stated that there is significant role of wind speed to reduce mean radiant temperature and globe temperature, when the velocity is elevated from 0.5 m/s to 2 m/s. However, the wind has not play significant role when the speed is changed from 2 m/s to 3.5 m/s. The results of the study may inspire us to implement effectiveness of electrical-fan equipment for outdoor space in order to get optimum wind speed, coupled with optimum design of shading devices to minimize radiant temperature for thermal comfort.

This article examines the level of empowerment and autonomy children can create in their play experiences. It examines the play discourses that children build and maintain and considers the importance of play contexts in supporting children's emotional and social development. These aspects of play are often unseen or misunderstood by the adult…

The author reviews the role of play within psychotherapy. She does not discuss the formal play therapy especially popular for young children, nor play from the Jungian perspective that encourages the use of the sand tray with adults. Instead, she focuses on the informal use of play during psychotherapy as it is orchestrated intuitively. Because…

Children's play and the playfulness of adolescents and adults are important indicators of personal growth and development. When a child is not able to play, or an adolescent/adult is not able to be playful with thoughts and ideas, psychotherapy can help to find a more playful and creative stance. Elaborating Winnicott's (1968, p. 591) statement that "psychotherapy has to do with two people playing together," three perspectives on play in psychotherapy are discussed. In the first point of view, the child gets in touch with and can work through aspects of his or her inner world, while playing in the presence of the therapist. The power of play is then rooted in the playful communication with the self In a second perspective, in play the child is communicating aspects of his or her inner world to the therapist as a significant other. In a third view, in "playing together" child and therapist are coconstructing new meanings. These three perspectives on play are valid at different moments of a therapy process or for different children, depending on the complex vicissitudes of the child's constitution, life experiences, development, and psychic structure. Concerning these three perspectives, a parallel can be drawn between the therapist's attitude toward the child's play and the way the therapist responds to the verbal play of an adolescent or adult. We illustrate this with the case of Jacob, a late adolescent hardly able to play with ideas.

The objectives of this paper are (1) to present the relationship of play to language and cognition, (2) to describe the stages of play and discuss recent literature about the characteristics of play, and (3) to describe the use of play with the multifaceted goals of cognition, pragmatics, semantics, syntax, and morphology as an intervention…

Due to the renovation of the CERN outdoor lighting, traffic will be limited to one way along “Route Gregory” from the E entrance (France) up to “Route Fermi” just before the water tower between 12th and 23rd July 2010. Disruption can also be expected in the car parks “Les Erables” and “Les Tilleuls” close to building 30 and also the car park in front of building 377, between 19th and 30th July 2010. Thanks for your understanding. SEM Group

Full Text Available Nowadays, devices and applications that require navigation solutions are continuously growing. For instance, consider the increasing demand of mapping information or the development of applications based on users’ location. In some case it could be sufficient an approximate solution (e.g. at room level, but in the large amount of cases a better solution is required. The navigation problem has been solved from a long time using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS. However, it can be unless in obstructed areas, such as in urban areas or inside buildings. An interesting low cost solution is photogrammetry, assisted using additional information to scale the photogrammetric problem and recovering a solution also in critical situation for image-based methods (e.g. poor textured surfaces. In this paper, the use of assisted photogrammetry has been tested for both outdoor and indoor scenarios. Outdoor navigation problem has been faced developing a positioning system with Ground Control Points extracted from urban maps as constrain and tie points automatically extracted from the images acquired during the survey. The proposed approach has been tested under different scenarios, recovering the followed trajectory with an accuracy of 0.20 m. For indoor navigation a solution has been thought to integrate the data delivered by Microsoft Kinect, by identifying interesting features on the RGB images and re-projecting them on the point clouds generated from the delivered depth maps. Then, these points have been used to estimate the rotation matrix between subsequent point clouds and, consequently, to recover the trajectory with few centimeters of error.

Nowadays, devices and applications that require navigation solutions are continuously growing. For instance, consider the increasing demand of mapping information or the development of applications based on users' location. In some case it could be sufficient an approximate solution (e.g. at room level), but in the large amount of cases a better solution is required. The navigation problem has been solved from a long time using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). However, it can be unless in obstructed areas, such as in urban areas or inside buildings. An interesting low cost solution is photogrammetry, assisted using additional information to scale the photogrammetric problem and recovering a solution also in critical situation for image-based methods (e.g. poor textured surfaces). In this paper, the use of assisted photogrammetry has been tested for both outdoor and indoor scenarios. Outdoor navigation problem has been faced developing a positioning system with Ground Control Points extracted from urban maps as constrain and tie points automatically extracted from the images acquired during the survey. The proposed approach has been tested under different scenarios, recovering the followed trajectory with an accuracy of 0.20 m. For indoor navigation a solution has been thought to integrate the data delivered by Microsoft Kinect, by identifying interesting features on the RGB images and re-projecting them on the point clouds generated from the delivered depth maps. Then, these points have been used to estimate the rotation matrix between subsequent point clouds and, consequently, to recover the trajectory with few centimeters of error.

To assess satisfactory job performance of superintendents on the basis of school districts' high-stakes testing outcomes, existing teacher models were reviewed and critiqued as potential options for retrofit. For these models, specific problems were identified relative to the choice of referent groups. An alternate referent group (statewide…

Among the different kinds of bio aerosols, fungi represent a heterogeneous group, which plays an important role in human pathology. These microorganisms can be the cause of a variety of infectious diseases as well as allergic and toxic effects. Therefore, it is necessary to assess their composition and concentrations indoors, outdoors and in domestic environments. The study of indoor-air quality is a relatively new activity in the world, and very recent in Mexico. The aim of this study was to establish the relation between indoors and outdoors fungal aerosols in domestic homes. Air samples were collected, using the 6-stage Andersen impactor, inside and outside thirty domestic homes of Merida city, in Yucatan, Mexico. (Author)

The concentrations of bacterial and fungal bioaerosols were measured in a retirement home and a school dormitory from May 2012 to May 2013. In the present work, two active and passive methods were used for bioaerosol sampling. The results from the present work indicated that Bacillus spp., Micrococcus spp., and Staphylococcus spp. were the dominant bacterial genera, while the major fungal genera were Penicillium spp., Cladosporium spp., and Aspergillus spp. The results also indicated that the indoor-to-outdoor (I/O) ratios for total bacteria were 1.77 and 1.44 in the retirement home and the school dormitory, respectively; the corresponding values for total fungal spores were 1.23 and 1.08. The results suggested that in addition to outdoor sources, indoor sources also played a significant role in emitting bacterial and fungal bioaerosols in the retirement home and the school dormitory indoor.

We developed modular robotic tiles to be used for playful physiotherapy, which is supposed to motivate patients to engage in and perform physical rehabilitation exercises. We tested the modular robotic tiles for an extensive period of time (3 years) in daily use in a hospital rehabilitation unit e.......g. for cardiac patients. Also, the tiles were tested for performing physical rehabilitation of stroke patients in their private home. In all pilot test cases qualitative feedback indicate that the patients find the playful use of modular robotic tiles engaging and motivating for them to perform...... the rehabilitation. Also, initial pilot test data suggest that some playful exercises on the tiles demand an average heart rate of 75% and 86% of the maximum heart rate....

Evaluative intervention research studies in pretend play are investigations that examine the potential of imaginative play in young children to demonstrate a relationship between play and cognitive, social, and emotional growth. A review of the research indicates that children who engage in imaginative play yield higher test scores than those in…

This study examined the extent to which school outdoor activities could enhance senior secondary (SS) two students' achievement in ecology. Non randomized pre test post test control group Quasi-experimental design was adopted. A sample of 160 SS II students from 4 co-educational schools in Jalingo metropolis, Taraba State Nigeria was used. A 40…

In this paper we propose The Play Grid, a model for systemizing different play types. The approach is psychological by nature and the actual Play Grid is based, therefore, on two pairs of fundamental and widely acknowledged distinguishing characteristics of the ego, namely: extraversion vs...... at the Play Grid. Thus, the model has four quadrants, each of them describing one of four play types: the Assembler, the Director, the Explorer, and the Improviser. It is our hope that the Play Grid can be a useful design tool for making entertainment products for children....

Outdoor leaders model their values, and their ethical frameworks and moral development help shape their influence on others. Outdoor leaders face many obstacles as they seek to define ethical standards, including the challenge of defining common ethics, lack of professional certifications, the limits of professional ethics, and issues of power and…

Outdoor educators often ask students to write journals without training them in journal writing. A workshop in journal writing for university students in outdoor education courses covers how to write entries related to specific content areas; an understanding of Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Thinking and how it applies to journal writing; and…

Powerful, dominant discourses surrounding neo-Hahnian theory (as discussed by Brookes in 2003) and effectiveness (as discussed by Hargreaves and Fullan in 1998, for example) have influenced both practice and research in outdoor adventure education. This has led to a concentration of research that focuses on the impact of outdoor programmes. It has…

Outdoor education provides an opportunity to engage with natural environments in ways that are distinct from other physical education teacher education (PETE) courses. This research examines how pre-service teachers (PSTs) within a PETE degree experienced "environment" on an outdoor education camp. Using self-study methodology and…

This paper concerns automatic video surveillance of outdoor scenes using a single camera. The first step in automatic interpretation of the video stream is activity detection based on background subtraction. Usually, this process will generate a large number of false alarms in outdoor scenes due...

In the ODELIA study for the European Commission an assessment of the outdoor equipment noise directive 2000/14/EC and its amendment 2005/88/EC has been performed. The directive requires noise marking for 57 types of equipment used outdoors, and sets noise limits for 22 of these. Since the limits

Article is devoted to questions to market segmentation of goods for sports and outdoor activities. Authors allocate the main segments of consumers of goods for sports and outdoor activities, carry out market segmentation on types of goods and services, and as segmentation on the competing organizations.

Outdoor education provides an opportunity to engage with natural environments in ways that are distinct from other physical education teacher education (PETE) courses. This research examines how pre-service teachers (PSTs) within a PETE degree experienced "environment" on an outdoor education camp. Using self-study methodology and…

Outside the classroom there are many opportunities that provide a variety of environmental, ecological and academic-oriented experiences. For inner city minority children from low income families the need for outdoor education programs is particularly critical. Much of the outdoor experience can be established right on the school site by using the…

A female outdoor educator who had recovered from anorexia nervosa reflects on the boundaries between her personal and professional identity as she anticipates taking on a research role in adventure-therapy programs. Gender issues in outdoor education are discussed in relation to women's body image and eating disorders. (SV)

This study presents an m-learning method that incorporates Integrated Quick Response (QR) codes. This learning method not only achieves the objectives of outdoor education, but it also increases applications of Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) (Mayer, 2001) in m-learning for practical use in a diverse range of outdoor locations. When…

In this paper we examine aspects of French social theorist, Michel Foucault's work and the contributions these can make to understanding practices in outdoor education. We look specifically at his notions of practice, discourse, power and the self and the lines of questioning that these concepts make possible in relation to outdoor education. We…

Full Text Available Article is devoted to questions to market segmentation of goods for sports and outdoor activities. Authors allocate the main segments of consumers of goods for sports and outdoor activities, carry out market segmentation on types of goods and services, and as segmentation on the competing organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest an outdoor education model that respects the need to critically discuss the general belief in a causal relationship between experiences of nature, environmentally-friendly attitudes and behavioural change, but that at the same time respects the legitimate claims on the part of outdoor education practice for…

In the United Kingdom, no outdoor practitioner is working as a professional therapist and little formal training in outdoor therapy exists. Practice of this type requires supervision and professional accreditation. Interested undergraduates should check social work, probation, mental health, educational psychology, or occupational therapy…

To investigate the relationship of outdoor activities and myopia in Singapore teenage children. Teenage children (1249 participants), examined in the Singapore Cohort study Of Risk factors for Myopia (SCORM), during 2006 were included in analyses. Participants completed questionnaires that quantified total outdoor activity, and underwent an eye examination. The mean total time spent on outdoor activity was 3.24 h/day. The total outdoor activity (h/day) was significantly associated with myopia, odds ratio 0.90 (95% CI 0.84 to 0.96) (p = 0.004), after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, school type, books read per week, height, parental myopia, parental education and intelligence quotient. In addition, the total time spent outdoors was associated with significantly less myopic refraction (regression coefficient = 0.17; CI 0.10 to 0.25, p<0.001) and shorter axial length (regression coefficient -0.06 (CI -0.1 to -0.03, p<0.001). Total sports was also significantly negatively associated with myopia (p = 0.008) but not indoor sports (p = 0.16). Participants who spent more time outdoors were less likely to be myopic. Thus, outdoor activity may protect against development of myopia in children, supporting recent Australian data. As near work did not predict outdoor activity, this can be viewed as an independent factor and not merely the reciprocal of near work.

Introduces a role playing activity that actively engages students in the learning process of mitosis. Students play either chromosomes carrying information, or cells in the cell membrane. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/YDS)

... Questionnaire Tuberculosis Play Tuberculosis Experiments & Discoveries About the game Discover and experience some of the classic methods ... last will in Paris. Play the Blood Typing Game Try to save some patients and learn about ...

... Teachers' Questionnaire MRI Play MRI the Magnetic Miracle Game About the game In the MRI imaging technique, strong magnets and ... last will in Paris. Play the Blood Typing Game Try to save some patients and learn about ...

... and Work Teachers' Questionnaire Electrocardiogram Play the ECG Game About the game ECG is used for diagnosing heart conditions by ... last will in Paris. Play the Blood Typing Game Try to save some patients and learn about ...

Proceedings from the conference "Children, Time, and Play". Danish University of Education, January 30th 2003.......Proceedings from the conference "Children, Time, and Play". Danish University of Education, January 30th 2003....

Introduces a role playing activity that actively engages students in the learning process of mitosis. Students play either chromosomes carrying information, or cells in the cell membrane. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/YDS)

for business and the other insists that work and play are largely indistinguishable in the postindustrial organization. Our field study of a design and communications company in Denmark shows that organizational play can be much more than just functional to the organization. We identify three ways in which......The interest in organizational play is growing, both in popular business discourse and organization studies. As the presumption that play is dysfunctional for organizations is increasingly discarded, the existing positions may be divided into two camps; one proposes ‘serious play’ as an engine...... workplaces engage in play: play as a (serious) continuation of work, play as a (critical) intervention into work and play as an (uninvited) usurpation of work....

Photosynthetic microalgae have received much attention as a microbial source of diverse useful biomaterials through CO(2) fixation and various types of photo-bioreactors have been developed for efficient microalgal cultivation. Herein, we developed a novel thin-film photo-bioreactor, which was made of cast polypropylene film, considering outdoor mass cultivation. To develop optimal design of photo-bioreactor, we tested performance of three shapes of thin-film photo-bioreactors (flat, horizontal and vertical tubular shapes) and various parts in the bioreactor. Collectively, vertical tubular bioreactor with H/D ratio 6:1 and cylindrical stainless steel spargers showed the most outstanding performance. Furthermore, the photo-bioreactor was successfully applied to the cultivation of other microalgae such as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris. The scalability of photo-bioreactor was confirmed by gradually increasing culture volume from 4 to 25 L and the biomass productivity of each reactor was quite consistent (0.05-0.07 g/L/day) during the cultivation of H. pluvialis under indoor and outdoor conditions. Especially, we also achieved dry cell weight of 4.64 g/L and astaxanthin yield of 218.16 mg/L through long-term cultivation (100 days) under outdoor condition in 15 L photo-bioreactor using Haematococcus pluvialis, which means that the astaxanthin yield from outdoor cultivation is equal or superior to that obtained from controlled indoor condition. Therefore, these results indicate that we can apply this approach to development of optimal photo-bioreactor for the large-scale culture of microalgae and production of useful biomaterials under outdoor condition.

Several PubMed search filters have been developed in contexts other than environmental. We aimed at identifying efficient PubMed search filters for the study of environmental determinants of diseases related to outdoor air pollution. We compiled a list of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and non-MeSH terms seeming pertinent to outdoor air pollutants exposure as determinants of diseases in the general population. We estimated proportions of potentially pertinent articles to formulate two filters (one 'more specific', one 'more sensitive'). Their overall performance was evaluated as compared with our gold standard derived from systematic reviews on diseases potentially related to outdoor air pollution. We tested these filters in the study of three diseases potentially associated with outdoor air pollution and calculated the number of needed to read (NNR) abstracts to identify one potentially pertinent article in the context of these diseases. Last searches were run in January 2016. The 'more specific' filter was based on the combination of terms that yielded a threshold of potentially pertinent articles ≥40%. The 'more sensitive' filter was based on the combination of all search terms under study. When compared with the gold standard, the 'more specific' filter reported the highest specificity (67.4%; with a sensitivity of 82.5%), while the 'more sensitive' one reported the highest sensitivity (98.5%; with a specificity of 47.9%). The NNR to find one potentially pertinent article was 1.9 for the 'more specific' filter and 3.3 for the 'more sensitive' one. The proposed search filters could help healthcare professionals investigate environmental determinants of medical conditions that could be potentially related to outdoor air pollution. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

This chapter offers support for Vygotsky’s claim that all play involves both an imagined situation as well as rules. Synthesising Schousboe’s comprehensive model of spheres of realities in playing (see Chapter 1, this volume) with Lev Vygotskys insight that all playing involve rules as well...

... Feeding Your 1- to 2-Year-Old Toddlers: Learning by Playing KidsHealth > For Parents > Toddlers: Learning by Playing Print A A A What's in ... child's play, but toddlers are hard at work learning important physical skills as they gain muscle control, ...

The paper first outlines a differentiation of play/game-motivations that include "negative" attitudes against the play/game itself like cheating or spoilsporting. This problem is of particular importance in concern of learning games because they are not "played" for themselves--at least in the first place--but due to an…

... and Work Teachers' Questionnaire Malaria Play the Mosquito Game Play the Parasite Game About the games Malaria is one of the world's most common ... last will in Paris. Play the Blood Typing Game Try to save some patients and learn about ...

Play is a powerful means to have an impact on the cognitive, social-emotional, and/or motor skills development. The introduction of technology brings new possibilities to provide engaging and entertaining whole-body play activities. Technology mediates the play activities and in this way changes how

Play is a powerful means to have an impact on the cognitive, social-emotional, and/or motor skills development. The introduction of technology brings new possibilities to provide engaging and entertaining whole-body play activities. Technology mediates the play activities and in this way changes how

Full Text Available Ouroboros: Playing A Biochemical RODRIGUES,D.T.1,2;GAYER, M.C.1,2; ESCOTO, D.F.1; DENARDIN, E.L.G.2, ROEHRS, R.1,2 1Interdisciplinary Research Group on Teaching Practice, Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Unipampa, RS, Brazil 2Laboratory of Physicochemical Studies and Natural Products, Post Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Unipampa, RS, Brazil Introduction: Currently, teachers seek different alternatives to enhance the teaching-learning process. Innovative teaching methodologies are increasingly common tools in educational routine. The use of games, electronic or conventional, is an effective tool to assist in learning and also to raise the social interaction between students. Objective: In this sense our work aims to evaluate the card game and "Ouroboros" board as a teaching and learning tool in biochemistry for a graduating class in Natural Sciences. Materials and methods: The class gathered 22 students of BSc in Natural Sciences. Each letter contained a question across the board that was drawn to a group to answer within the allotted time. The questions related concepts of metabolism, organic and inorganic chemical reactions, bioenergetics, etc.. Before the game application, students underwent a pre-test with four issues involving the content that was being developed. Soon after, the game was applied. Then again questions were asked. Data analysis was performed from the ratio of the number of correct pre-test and post-test answers. Results and discussion: In the pre-test 18.1% of the students knew all issues, 18.1% got 3 correct answers, 40.9% answered only 2 questions correctly and 22.7% did not hit any. In post-test 45.4% answered all the questions right, 31.8% got 3 questions and 22.7% got 2 correct answers. The results show a significant improvement of the students about the field of content taught through the game. Conclusion: Generally, traditional approaches of chemistry and biochemistry are abstract and complex. Thus, through games

, courts, and outdoorplay areas. Nearly all were free from vandalism and many had murals or art. These results provide preliminary data for future work examining outdoor school environments, active transport to school, and children's physical activity in India.

This chapter offers support for Vygotsky’s claim that all play involves both an imagined situation as well as rules. Synthesising Schousboe’s comprehensive model of spheres of realities in playing (see Chapter 1, this volume) with Lev Vygotskys insight that all playing involve rules as well...... as pretence, children’s play is understood as an activity involving rules of the social order (roles and positions) as well as identification processes (imagined situations). The theoretical argumentation builds on empirical examples obtained in two different Danish day-care centres. The chapter is informed...... by ethnographic observations and draws on illustrative examples with symbolic group play as well as game-play with rules (soccer) among 5 year old boys. Findings suggest that day-care children’s play, involves negotiation of roles, positioning and identification, and rules – and that these negotiations...

Full Text Available Outdoor lighting is an essential service for modern life. However, the high influence of this type of facility on energy consumption makes it necessary to take extra care in the design phase. Therefore, this manuscript describes an algorithm to help light designers to get, in an easy way, the best configuration parameters and to improve energy efficiency, while ensuring a minimum level of overall uniformity. To make this possible, we used a particle swarm optimization (PSO algorithm. These algorithms are well established, and are simple and effective to solve optimization problems. To take into account the most influential parameters on lighting and energy efficiency, 500 simulations were performed using DIALux software (4.10.0.2, DIAL, Ludenscheid, Germany. Next, the relation between these parameters was studied using to data mining software. Subsequently, we conducted two experiments for setting parameters that enabled the best configuration algorithm in order to improve efficiency in the proposed process optimization.

In this study we investigate the release of metallic silver nanoparticles (Ag-NP) from paints used for outdoor applications. A facade panel mounted on a model house was exposed to ambient weather conditions over a period of one year. The runoff volume of individual rain events was determined and the silver and titanium concentrations of 36 out of 65 runoff events were measured. Selected samples were prepared for electron microscopic analysis. A strong leaching of the Ag-NP was observed during the initial runoff events with a maximum concentration of 145 micro Ag/l. After a period of one year, more than 30% of the Ag-NP were released to the environment. Particles were mostly <15 nm and are released as composite colloids attached to the organic binders of the paint. Microscopic results indicate that the Ag-NP are likely transformed to considerably less toxic forms such as Ag2S.

Full Text Available The nature is man’s first teacher. Slovenian people are generally proud of their country being a green oasis in the middle of Europe, characterized by many natural and geographical features. As we were interested to see whether younger primary school students had experience with learning about such features in outdoor classes, we completed an empirical research on a sample of 84 primary school class teachers in the Prekmurje region. We investigated if teachers included field trips (and how many in their lesson plans and how many of those they actually took their students to. We established that teachers (too rarely allowed their students to gain knowledge and information directly from nature.

We determined the cumulative exposure of 3 body sites to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight for 126 children observed from 1-3 d during a variety of common recreational activities at a girl scout camp, baseball camp and community baseball field. Median arm exposure to children playing baseball at a camp ranged from 27.6% to 33.2% of the possible ambient exposure. These exposures are similar to adult exposures reported for comparable activities. Median exposure to the arm at the girl scout camp during mixed activities ranged from 9.0% to 26.5% of possible ambient exposure. At the girl scout camp, exposure both within and between activity groups varied substantially and were more variable than the baseball players' exposure. Arm exposure was greater than cheek and forehead exposure for all subject groups, with an arm-to-cheek exposure ratio ranging from 1.7 to 2.3. For organized sports, such as baseball, it may be possible to assign a single exposure estimate for use in epidemiologic studies or risk estimates. However, for less uniform outdoor activities, wide variability in exposure makes it more difficult to predict an individual's exposure.

Children's play and culture have changed over the recent years, and it is possible to understand the changes as a result of a more general change in society. We witness a large degree of changes connected to demographical aspects of children's lives. First of all it is a fact that large groups....... They are changing play arenas in order to find the identity, which suits them. In order to play children must know and be conscious of the cultural heritage, which contains knowledge of the way to organize in the playing session, the aesthetics, the techniques of playing, and this is something that is handed down...... from one generation to the next. Because older children are no longer present as younger children grow up, the traditional "cultural leaders" are gone. They have taken with them much of the inspiration for play as well as important knowledge about how to organise a game. In that sense we can say...

Viewed ontogenetically, creating, dreaming, and playing are a variant of object relatedness. It is suggested that in recapitulating the ontogenetic sequence, creating, dreaming, and playing each as a process initiates by de-differentiation to primal union, evolves into transitional functioning, and consummates in tertiary cognitive discourse. The products of the triad--the created object, the dream, and play--are viewed as synergistic psychodynamic composites of topical, personal, and arche-typical imperatives. Creating, dreaming, and playing are easily overburdened by events, becoming stereotypical and repetitious. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the play of chronically ill, hospitalized children. It is suggested that with development generally, playing is replaced by formalized games; only dreaming continues as the vestige of early creative abilities.

Full Text Available The similarities between virtuality and play are obvious, beginning with, for instance, the ubiquitous character of both. This paper deals with how insights from research on play can be used to enlighten our understanding of the ethical dimensions of activities in cyberspace, and vice versa. In particular, a central claim that play is beyond vice and virtue is debated and contested.http://dx.doi.org/10.5324/eip.v4i2.1762

Full Text Available Play is an important aspect of dolphin life, perhaps even an essential one. Play provides opportunities for dolphin calves to practice and perfect locomotor skills, including those involved in foraging and mating strategies and behaviors. Play also allows dolphin calves to learn important social skills and acquire information about the characteristics and predispositions of members of their social group, particularly their peers. In addition to helping dolphin calves learn how to behave, play also provides valuable opportunities for them to learn how to think. The ability to create and control play contexts enables dolphins to create novel experiences for themselves and their playmates under relatively safe conditions. The behavioral variability and individual creativity that characterize dolphin play yield ample opportunities for individual cognitive development as well as social learning, and sometimes result in innovations that are reproduced by other members of the group. Although adults sometimes produce innovative play, calves are the primary source of such innovations. Calves are also more likely to imitate novel play behaviors than are adults, and so calves contribute significantly to both the creation and transmission of novel play behaviors within a group. Not unexpectedly, then, the complexity of dolphin play increases with the involvement of peers. As a result, the opportunity to observe and/or interact with other dolphin calves enhances the effects of play on the acquisition and maintenance of flexible problem solving skills, the emergence and strengthening of social and communicative competencies, and the establishment of social relationships. It seems that play may have evolved to help young dolphins learn to adapt to novel situations in both their physical and social worlds, the beneficial result being a set of abilities that increases the likelihood that an individual survives and reproduces.

Full Text Available Outdoor workers are at high risk of developing skin cancer. Primary prevention can potentiallyreduce the incidence of skin cancer in this group. This study aimed to determine theknowledge and sun protective behaviour of outdoor workers towards skin cancer. A shortquestionnaire was used to collect data from workers on construction sites during workinghours. Despite workers having knowledge of the risks of skin cancer their use of sun protectionwas less than satisfactory, particularly considering their cumulative exposure.Workplace health education programs for outdoor workers addressing sun protection areindicated, as is further research to increase understanding of issues workers have withsun protection in the workplace.

The thermal environment of buildings with a second "skin" and semi-outdoor space is examined in the present study. A literature review was conducted on similar structures and only a few studies were found focusing on the thermal environment. Two different building case studies were chosen...... building can be used by the occupants. The study was based on weather data for Copenhagen. In addition to the simulations, physical measurements were performed in DoV to assess the thermal environment in the semi-outdoor space. Since existing standards are not applicable for semi-outdoor spaces...

Play your part is a collection of then situations in which students have to take on the roles of particular people and express their opinions, feelings or arguments about the situation. Play your part is intended for use with advanced students of English.

The modern special education theater in the United States has hosted many plays, none with a larger or more diverse cast than the learning disabilities (LD) play. During the prologue, the children with LD were waiting in the wings, not yet identified as LD but there, nonetheless. With the advent of compulsory education in this country, awareness…

What does it mean to design a playful learning tool? What is needed for a learning tool to be perceived by potential users as playful? These questions emerged reflecting on a Participatory Design process aimed at enhancing museum-learning practice from the perspective of primary school children. ...

The author investigates what he believes one of the more important aspects of play--the experience it generates in its participants. He considers the quality of this experience in relation to five ways of viewing play--as action, interaction, activity, disposition, and within a context. He treats broadly the different forms of affect, including…

Play is a key element in cultural development, according to the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga. Nowadays many of us interact with other people in online games and social networks, through multiple digital devices. But harnessing playful activities for museum learning is mostly undeveloped. In thi...

This paper examines a case study of family play therapy in Israel. The unique contributions of play therapy are evaluated including the therapy's accessibility to young children, its richness and flexibility, its exposure of covert patterns, its wealth of therapeutic means, and its therapeutic economy. The systematization of the therapy attempts…

Call it physical activity, call it games, or call it play. Whatever its name, it's a place we all need to return to. In the physical education, recreation, and dance professions, we need to redesign programs to address the need for and want of play that is inherent in all of us.

This article explores how playing games can be used to teach intangible social interaction across boundaries, in particular within open collaborative innovation. We present an exploratory case study of how students learned from playing a board game in a graduate course of the international...... imply several opportunities and challenges within education and beyond....

Play is a key element in cultural development, according to the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga. Nowadays many of us interact with other people in online games and social networks, through multiple digital devices. But harnessing playful activities for museum learning is mostly undeveloped. In thi...

This book is aimed at advanced developers who are looking to harness the power of Play 2.x. This book will also be useful for professionals looking to dive deeper into web development. Play 2 .x is an excellent framework to accelerate your learning of advanced topics.

Children have a right to play. The idea is so simple it seems self-evident. But a stroll through any toy superstore, or any half-hour of so-called "children's" programming on commercial TV, makes it clear that violence, not play, dominates what's being sold. In this article, the author discusses how teachers and parents share the responsibility in…

The main superconducting dipoles for the LHC are being stored outdoors for periods from a few weeks to several years after conditioning with dry nitrogen gas. Such a storage before installation in the 27 km circumference tunnel may affect not only the mechanical and cryogenic functionality of the cryodipoles but also their quench and field performance. A dedicated task force was established to study all aspects of long term behaviour of the stored cryodipoles, with particular emphasis on electrical and vacuum integrity, quench training behaviour, magnetic field quality, performance of the thermal insulation, mechanical stability of magnet shape and of the interface between cold mass and cryostat, degradation ofmaterials and welds. In particular, one specifically selected cryodipole stored outdoors for more than one year, was retested at cold. In addition, various tests have been carried out on the cryodipole assembly and on the most critical subcomponents to study aspects such as the hygrothermal behaviour of...

We deployed a 855 cm2 thin-film, single-junction gallium arsenide (GaAs) photovoltaic (PV) module outdoors. Due to its fundamentally different cell technology compared to silicon (Si), the module responds differently to outdoor conditions. On average during the test, the GaAs module produced more power when its temperature was higher. We show that its maximum-power temperature coefficient, while actually negative, is several times smaller in magnitude than that of a Si module used for comparison. The positive correlation of power with temperature in GaAs is due to temperature-correlated changes in the incident spectrum. We show that a simple correction based on precipitable water vapor (PWV) brings the photocurrent temperature coefficient into agreement with that measured by other methods and predicted by theory. The low operating temperature and small temperature coefficient of GaAs give it an energy production advantage in warm weather.

Full Text Available This paper discusses the development of navigation algorithms to enable seamless operation of a small-size multi-copter in an indoor-outdoor environment. In urban and indoor environments a GPS position capability may be unavailable not only due to shadowing, significant signal attenuation or multipath, but also due to intentional denial or deception. The proposed navigation algorithm uses data from a GPS receiver, multiple 2D laser scanners, and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU. This paper addresses the proposed multi-mode fusion algorithm and provides initial result using flight test data. This paper furthermore describes the 3DR hexacopter platform that has been used to collect data in an operational environment, starting in an open environment, transitioning to an indoor environment, traversing a building, and, finally, transitioning back to the outdoor environment. Implementation issues will be discussed.

This paper discusses the development of navigation algorithms to enable seamless operation of a small-size multi-copter in an indoor-outdoor environment. In urban and indoor environments a GPS position capability may be unavailable not only due to shadowing, significant signal attenuation or multipath, but also due to intentional denial or deception. The proposed navigation algorithm uses data from a GPS receiver, multiple 2D laser scanners, and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). This paper addresses the proposed multi-mode fusion algorithm and provides initial result using flight test data. This paper furthermore describes the 3DR hexacopter platform that has been used to collect data in an operational environment, starting in an open environment, transitioning to an indoor environment, traversing a building, and, finally, transitioning back to the outdoor environment. Implementation issues will be discussed.

The Outdoor Council of Australia's renaming of "Australian Journal of Outdoor Education" ("AJOE") as "Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education" ("JOEE") follows deliberations among Australian and international stakeholders in outdoor education about the future of publishing in the field and raises a…

The Outdoor Council of Australia's renaming of "Australian Journal of Outdoor Education" ("AJOE") as "Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education" ("JOEE") follows deliberations among Australian and international stakeholders in outdoor education about the future of publishing in the field and raises a…

Positive risk-taking in the context of outdoor physical play is important for fostering children's optimal health and development. Despite this, there is mounting concern that many developmentally beneficial activities are now seen as dangerous and something to be avoided. However, perceptions of risk are very much subject to cultural…

Now in its second edition, "Nature and Young Children" promotes the holistic development of children by connecting them with nature. It offers advice and guidance on how to set up indoor and outdoor nature play spaces as well as encouraging environmentally responsible attitudes, values and behaviour in your early childhood setting. Covering topics…

Now in its second edition, "Nature and Young Children" promotes the holistic development of children by connecting them with nature. It offers advice and guidance on how to set up indoor and outdoor nature play spaces as well as encouraging environmentally responsible attitudes, values and behaviour in your early childhood setting. Covering topics…

Positive risk-taking in the context of outdoor physical play is important for fostering children's optimal health and development. Despite this, there is mounting concern that many developmentally beneficial activities are now seen as dangerous and something to be avoided. However, perceptions of risk are very much subject to cultural…

Objectives Clinical manifestation of infection with Leptospira species in cats is rare. Nevertheless, cats can develop specific antibodies against the spirochetes after infection. In Canada, Taiwan and the USA it was recently demonstrated that naturally infected cats can also shed DNA from pathogenic Leptospira species in their urine, but the zoonotic potential of infected cats is still unclear. The objective of this study was to demonstrate if outdoor cats in Germany shed DNA from pathogenic Leptospira species in their urine. As a second aim, antibody prevalence was determined. Methods Two hundred and fifteen outdoor cats were prospectively recruited. Urine samples were tested by real-time PCR targeting the lipL32 gene of pathogenic Leptospira species. Antibody titres against eight serovars (Australis, Autumnalis, Bratislava, Canicola, Copenhageni, Grippotyphosa, Pomona, Saxkoebing) belonging to seven serogroups (Australis, Autumnalis, Canicola, Grippotyphosa, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Pomona, Sejroe) were determined by microscopic agglutination test. Results Urine samples from 7/215 cats (3.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.9-5.7) were PCR-positive. Specific antibodies were detected in 35/195 cats (17.9%; 95% CI: 12.5-23.3) with titres ranging from 1:100 to 1:6400. Australis, Bratislava and Grippotyphosa were the most common serovars. Conclusions and relevance Outdoor cats in Germany can shed DNA from pathogenic Leptospira species. Therefore, outdoor cats should be considered as a possible source of infection for dogs or humans. Further studies are needed to determine the role of Leptospira species as a cause of disease in cats.

Indoor and outdoor concentrations of respirable particulates and sulfates have been measured in 68 homes in six cities for at least 1 yr. A conservation of mass model was derived describing indoor concentrations in terms of outdoor concentrations, infiltration and indoor sources. The measured data were analysed to identify important building characteristics and to quantify their effect. The mean infiltration rate of outdoor fine particulates was found to be approximately 70%. Cigarette smoking was found to be the dominant indoor source of respirable particulates. Increased indoor concentrations of sulfates were found to be associated with smoking and also with gas stoves. The effect of full air conditioning of the building was to reduce infiltration of outdoor fine particulates by about one half, while preventing dilution and purging of internally generated pollutants. The model for indoor respirable particulate and sulfate levels was found to compare well with measurements.

The research overviews spatial recreation and tourism development policy, marketing and express outdoor recreationist and tourist preferences that translate into spatial suitability indicators or attraction features captured in a spatial resource ...

Full Text Available Language environment is highlighted as an important area in the early childhood education sector. The term language environment refers to language-promoting aspects of education, such as preschool staff’s use of verbal language in interacting with the children. There is a lack of research about language learning in outdoor environments; thus children’s language learning is mostly based on the indoor physical environment. The aim of this study is therefore to explore, analyse, and describe how preschool staff perceive language learning in outdoor environments. The data consists of focus-group interviews with 165 preschool staff members, conducted in three cities in Sweden. The study is meaningful, thus results contribute knowledge regarding preschool staffs’ understandings of language learning in outdoor environments and develop insights to help preschool staff stimulate children’s language learning in outdoor environments.

Through the theories of play by Gadamer (2004) and Henricks (2006), I will show how the relationship between play and game can be understood as dialectic and disruptive, thus challenging understandings of how the procedures of games determine player activity and vice versa. As such, I posit some...... analytical consequences for understandings of digital games as procedurally fixed (Boghost, 2006; Flannagan, 2009; Bathwaite & Sharp, 2010). That is, if digital games are argued to be procedurally fixed and if play is an appropriative and dialectic activity, then it could be argued that the latter affects...

Full Text Available Since the industrialization of swine production in the late 1900s, swine farms in the United States, as well as in Europe, have largely become consolidated. Pig farms became larger in size but fewer in number, with 91% of market pigs being produced by large operations with 5,000 or more pigs on-site in the US, and only 3% of the total utilized agricultural land representing organic farming. Such change in the market made it difficult for small farmers to stay competitive, forcing them to find alternative ways to reduce the cost of production and increase profit using the outdoor production system. In contrast to the indoor confinement system, outdoor production system uses pasture-based units and/or deep-bedded hoop structures that promote animal welfare and environmental sustainability with a lower capital investment. In accord with the growing concern for animal and environmental welfare and food safety by the consumers, small farmers practicing an outdoor production system are seeing increased opportunities for marketing their products in the pork niche market. Unlike the general belief that the reproductive and growth performance measures of the outdoor sows and piglets are poorer in comparison with the animals reared indoors, studies showed that there was no significant difference in the performance measures, and some traits were even better in outdoor animals. Improved reproductive and production traits can increase the sustainability of outdoor farming. Present study reviewed the recent studies comparing the performance measures, meat quality and health of indoor and outdoor animals, as well as the efforts to improve the outdoor production system through changes in management such as hut types and breed of animals.

Falls are a major threat to older people's health and wellbeing. Approximately half of falls occur in outdoor environments but little is known about the circumstances in which they occur. We conducted a qualitative study to explore older people's experiences of outdoor falls to develop understanding of how they may be prevented. We conducted nine focus groups across the UK (England, Wales, and Scotland). Our sample was from urban and rural settings and different environmental landscapes. Participants were aged 65+ and had at least one outdoor fall in the past year. We analysed the data using framework and content analyses. Forty-four adults aged 65 - 92 took part and reported their experience of 88 outdoor falls. Outdoor falls occurred in a variety of contexts, though reports suggested the following scenarios may have been more frequent: when crossing a road, in a familiar area, when bystanders were around, and with an unreported or unknown attribution. Most frequently, falls resulted in either minor or moderate injury, feeling embarrassed at the time of the fall, and anxiety about falling again. Ten falls resulted in fracture, but no strong pattern emerged in regard to the contexts of these falls. Anxiety about falling again appeared more prevalent among those that fell in urban settings and who made more visits into their neighbourhood in a typical week. This exploratory study has highlighted several aspects of the outdoor environment that may represent risk factors for outdoor falls and associated fear of falling. Health professionals are recommended to consider outdoor environments as well as the home setting when working to prevent falls and increase mobility among older people.

Full Text Available The article describes some features and traditions of outdoor sacral spaces in Lithuania, includes a historical analysis and various features of different historical periods and explains the new tendencies and possibilities of future development in contemporary Lithuania. By analysing the phenomenon of outdoor sacral spaces, some archaeological and historical data is used to identify the principles of creating such sacral space.Article in Lithuanian

State-of-the-art autostereoscopic displays are often limited in size, effective brightness, number of 3D viewing zones, and maximum 3D viewing distances, all of which are mandatory requirements for large-scale outdoor displays. Conventional autostereoscopic indoor concepts like lenticular lenses or parallax barriers cannot simply be adapted for these screens due to the inherent loss of effective resolution and brightness, which would reduce both image quality and sunlight readability. We have developed a modular autostereoscopic multi-view laser display concept with sunlight readable effective brightness, theoretically up to several thousand 3D viewing zones, and maximum 3D viewing distances of up to 60 meters. For proof-of-concept purposes a prototype display with two pixels was realized. Due to various manufacturing tolerances each individual pixel has slightly different optical properties, and hence the 3D image quality of the display has to be calculated stochastically. In this paper we present the corresponding stochastic model, we evaluate the simulation and measurement results of the prototype display, and we calculate the achievable autostereoscopic image quality to be expected for our concept.

Augmented Reality focuses on the enrichment of the user's natural field of view by consistent integration of text, symbols and interactive three-dimensional objects in real time. Placing virtual objects directly into the user's view in a natural context empowers highly dynamic applications. On the other hand, this necessitates deliberate choice of information design and density, in particular for deployment in hazardous environments like military combat scenarios. As the amount of information needed is not foreseeable and strongly depends on the individual mission, an appropriate system must offer adequate adaptation capabilities. The paper presents a prototypical, vehicle-mountable Augmented Reality vision system, designed for enhancing situation awareness in stressful urban warfare scenarios. Tracking, as one of the most crucial challenges for outdoor Augmented Reality, is accomplished by means of a Differential-GPS approach while the type of display to attach can be modified, ranging from ocular displays to standard LCD mini-screens. The overall concept also includes envisioning of own troops (blue forces), for which a multi-sensor tracking approach has been chosen. As a main feature, the system allows switching between different information categories, focusing on friendly, hostile, unidentified or neutral data. Results of an empirical study on the superiority of an in-view navigation cue approach conclude the paper.

Full Text Available The mobile phone is no longer only a communication device, but also a powerful environmental sensing unit that can monitor a user’s ambient context. Mobile users take their devices with them everywhere which increases the availability of persons’ traces. Extracting and analyzing knowledge from these traces represent a strong support for several applications domains, ranging from traffic management to advertisement and social studies. However, the limited battery capacity of mobile devices represents a big hurdle for context detection, no matter how useful the service may be. We present a novel approach to online recognizing users’ outdoor activities without depleting the mobile resources. We associate the places visited by individuals during their movements with meaningful human activities using a novel algorithm that clusters incrementally user’s moves into different types of activities. To optimize the battery consumption, the algorithm behaves variably on the basis of users’ behaviors and the remaining battery level. Studies using real GPS records from two big datasets demonstrate that the proposal is effective and is capable of inferring human activities without draining the phone resources.

We investigated relationships between outdoor air pollution and pterygium in Korean adults. This study includes 23,276 adults in population-based cross-sectional data using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2011. Pterygium was assessed using slit lamp biomicroscopy. Air pollution data (humidity, particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm [PM₁₀], ozone [O₃], nitrogen dioxide [NO₂], and sulfur dioxide levels [SO₂]) for 2 years preceding the ocular examinations were acquired. Associations of multiple air pollutants with pterygium or pterygium recurrence after surgery were examined using multivariate logistic models, after adjusting for several covariates. Distributed lag models were additionally used for estimating cumulative effects of air pollution on pterygium. None of air pollution factors was significantly associated with pterygium or pterygium recurrence (each P > 0.05). Distributed lag models also showed that air pollution factors were not associated with pterygium or pterygium recurrence in 0-to-2 year lags (each P > 0.05). However, primary pterygium showed a weak association with PM10 after adjusting for covariates (odds ratio [OR] 1.23; [per 5 μg/m³ PM₁₀ increase]; P = 0.023). Aging, male sex, and greater sun exposure were associated with pterygium, while higher education level and myopia were negatively associated with pterygium (each P ≤ 0.001). Male sex and myopia were negatively associated with pterygium recurrence (each P air pollution and overall pterygium or pterygium recurrence in Korean adults.

Realistic rendering techniques of outdoor Augmented Reality (AR) has been an attractive topic since the last two decades considering the sizeable amount of publications in computer graphics. Realistic virtual objects in outdoor rendering AR systems require sophisticated effects such as: shadows, daylight and interactions between sky colours and virtual as well as real objects. A few realistic rendering techniques have been designed to overcome this obstacle, most of which are related to non real-time rendering. However, the problem still remains, especially in outdoor rendering. This paper proposed a much newer, unique technique to achieve realistic real-time outdoor rendering, while taking into account the interaction between sky colours and objects in AR systems with respect to shadows in any specific location, date and time. This approach involves three main phases, which cover different outdoor AR rendering requirements. Firstly, sky colour was generated with respect to the position of the sun. Second step involves the shadow generation algorithm, Z-Partitioning: Gaussian and Fog Shadow Maps (Z-GaF Shadow Maps). Lastly, a technique to integrate sky colours and shadows through its effects on virtual objects in the AR system, is introduced. The experimental results reveal that the proposed technique has significantly improved the realism of real-time outdoor AR rendering, thus solving the problem of realistic AR systems. PMID:25268480

Realistic rendering techniques of outdoor Augmented Reality (AR) has been an attractive topic since the last two decades considering the sizeable amount of publications in computer graphics. Realistic virtual objects in outdoor rendering AR systems require sophisticated effects such as: shadows, daylight and interactions between sky colours and virtual as well as real objects. A few realistic rendering techniques have been designed to overcome this obstacle, most of which are related to non real-time rendering. However, the problem still remains, especially in outdoor rendering. This paper proposed a much newer, unique technique to achieve realistic real-time outdoor rendering, while taking into account the interaction between sky colours and objects in AR systems with respect to shadows in any specific location, date and time. This approach involves three main phases, which cover different outdoor AR rendering requirements. Firstly, sky colour was generated with respect to the position of the sun. Second step involves the shadow generation algorithm, Z-Partitioning: Gaussian and Fog Shadow Maps (Z-GaF Shadow Maps). Lastly, a technique to integrate sky colours and shadows through its effects on virtual objects in the AR system, is introduced. The experimental results reveal that the proposed technique has significantly improved the realism of real-time outdoor AR rendering, thus solving the problem of realistic AR systems.

Falls by older people (aged 65+) are linked to disability and a decrease in mobility, presenting a challenge to active ageing. As such, older fallers represent a vulnerable road user group. Despite this there is little research into the causes and prevention of outdoor falls. This paper develops an understanding of environmental factors causing falls or fear of falling using a walk-along interview approach with recent fallers to explore how older people navigate the outdoor environment and which aspects of it they perceived facilitate or hinder their ability to go outdoors and fear of falling. While there are a number of audit checklists focused on assessing the indoor environment for risk or fear of falls, nothing exists for the outdoor environment. Many existing street audit tools are focused on general environmental qualities and have not been designed with an older population in mind. We present a checklist that assesses aspects of the environment most likely to encourage or hinder those who are at risk of falling outdoors, developed through accounting for the experiences and navigational strategies of elderly individuals. The audit checklist can assist occupational therapists and urban planners, designers and managers in working to reduce the occurrence of outdoor falls among this vulnerable user group.

Full Text Available Realistic rendering techniques of outdoor Augmented Reality (AR has been an attractive topic since the last two decades considering the sizeable amount of publications in computer graphics. Realistic virtual objects in outdoor rendering AR systems require sophisticated effects such as: shadows, daylight and interactions between sky colours and virtual as well as real objects. A few realistic rendering techniques have been designed to overcome this obstacle, most of which are related to non real-time rendering. However, the problem still remains, especially in outdoor rendering. This paper proposed a much newer, unique technique to achieve realistic real-time outdoor rendering, while taking into account the interaction between sky colours and objects in AR systems with respect to shadows in any specific location, date and time. This approach involves three main phases, which cover different outdoor AR rendering requirements. Firstly, sky colour was generated with respect to the position of the sun. Second step involves the shadow generation algorithm, Z-Partitioning: Gaussian and Fog Shadow Maps (Z-GaF Shadow Maps. Lastly, a technique to integrate sky colours and shadows through its effects on virtual objects in the AR system, is introduced. The experimental results reveal that the proposed technique has significantly improved the realism of real-time outdoor AR rendering, thus solving the problem of realistic AR systems.

The power of play, so central to psychoanalytic theory and practice, is conjoined to the social psychological or socio-politically coloured concept of power, giving rise to many fruitful discussions of how these concepts manifest themselves in clinical work with children, groups and adults....... The inspiration for this book was the 3-section EFPP conference in Copenhagen in May 2007 with the main theme "Play and Power". At the conference and in the book, this theme is presented both inside and outside the therapeutic space. It is amply illustrated in clinical cases from individual psychotherapies....... Play and power are also explored in the broader context of the community, however. In relation to society at large, psychoanalytic psychotherapy has important contributions to offer society, and we need playful creativity and power to bring forward our knowledge about it....

It is now well known that decentralised optimisation can be formulated as a potential game, and game-theoretical learning algorithms can be used to find an optimum. One of the most common learning techniques in game theory is fictitious play. However fictitious play is founded on an implicit assumption that opponents' strategies are stationary. We present a novel variation of fictitious play that allows the use of a more realistic model of opponent strategy. It uses a heuristic approach, from the online streaming data literature, to adaptively update the weights assigned to recently observed actions. We compare the results of the proposed algorithm with those of stochastic and geometric fictitious play in a simple strategic form game, a vehicle target assignment game and a disaster management problem. In all the tests the rate of convergence of the proposed algorithm was similar or better than the variations of fictitious play we compared it with. The new algorithm therefore improves the performance of game-t...

Full Text Available In this paper, we suggest to use color-image classification (in several phases using Markov Random Fields (MRFs in order to understand natural images from outdoor environment's scenes for a mobile robot. We skip preprocessing phase having same results and better performance. In segmentation phase, we implement a color segmentation method considering I3 color space measure average in little image's cells obtained from a single split step. In classification phase, a MRF was used to identify regions as one of three selected classes; here, we consider at the same time the intrinsic color features of the image and the neighborhood system between image's cells. Finally, we use region growing and contextual information to correct misclassification errors. We have implemented and tested those phases with several images taken at our campus' gardens. We include some results in off-line processing mode and in on-line execution mode on an outdoor mobile robot. The vision system has been used for reactive exploration in an outdoor environment.

In the last two decades Resistive Plate Chambers were employed in the Cosmic Ray Experiments COVER-PLASTEX and ARGO/YBJ. In both experiments the detectors were housed indoors, likely owing to gas distribution requirements and the need to control environment variables that directly affect RPCs operational stability. But in experiments where Extended Air Shower (EAS) sampling is necessary, large area arrays composed by dispersed stations are deployed, rendering this kind of approach impossible. In this situation, it would be mandatory to have detectors that could be deployed in small standalone stations, with very rare opportunities for maintenance, and with good resilience to environmental conditions. Aiming to meet these requirements, we started some years ago the development of RPCs for Autonomous Stations. The results from indoor tests and measurements were very promising, both concerning performance and stability under very low gas flow rate, which is the main requirement for Autonomous Stations. In this work we update the indoor results and show the first ones concerning outdoor stable operation. In particular, a dynamic adjustment of the high voltage is applied to keep gas gain constant.

This study explores pre-service teachers' past interactions with 'place' in outdoor settings and how these experiences contribute to their current perceptions of the importance of taking their own students into the outdoors. Specifically, the researchers were interested in investigating if current pre-service teachers are part of the 'nature-deficit disorder' generation described by Louv in his book, Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder (2005), as a generation of children growing up without direct experiences in nature. Study participants included 148 undergraduate pre-service elementary teachers enrolled in science teaching methods instructional courses at an urban college in the Northeastern United States and two suburban universities in the Southeastern United States. Participants wrote essay responses after reading Louv's Last Child in the Woods in which they were asked to relate the reading to their own past experiences and their ideas about elementary science education. Results indicate that a large majority of participants (97%) describe significant youth experiences in the outdoors, view nature as important in varying ways (89.9%), and express a desire to expose their own students to the outdoors (65.5%). Key findings are illustrated with direct quotations from the pre-service teachers' essay responses, as they write vividly of their interactions in outdoor places, referred to as 'place meanings'. Implications are presented for teacher educators working with pre-service teachers to build upon their outdoor experiences and prepare them for implementing nature-based instruction.

Outdoor thermal comfort has always been a major issue due to its irreplaceable role in maintaining good health and energy use. Thus, quantitative analysis of outdoor thermal comfort and discussions on influential factors seem very necessary to achieve the climate-conscious urban design. Therefore, an outdoor thermal comfort questionnaire survey and the simultaneous field measurement were conducted in six different places during the hot and humid summertime in Shenzhen. The results show that the overall weather conditions during the investigation can be expressed with high temperature and high humidity with strong solar radiation. The micro-meteorological parameters of six test sites vary greatly due to their different regional spatial layouts. Moderate range of air temperature ( Ta ) is between 28 to 30 ℃ while that of relative humidity ( RH ) mainly concentrates in 60%-70% with the thermal sensation votes. The main influential factors impacting outdoor thermal comfort are obtained and Ta has the greatest effect. The overall thermal comfortable ranges in Shenzhen are expressed by the range of 28. 14-32. 83 ℃ of PET and 24. 74-30. 45 ℃ of SET?. With the correlation analysis between the characteristic parameters of regional spatial layout and thermal climate and thermal comfort, it reveals that increasing the coverage ratio of water and green space ( S) helps lower Ta and increase RH . The global solar radiation ( G) has a significant negative correlation with the height of buildings ( H) and a positive correlation with sky view factor ( SVF ) . Overall, reasonable configuration of the regional spatial layout contributes to providing a thermal comfortable environment.

This document consists of materials presented at a conference organized by representatives of university outdoor programs to discuss issues and exchange ideas about outdoor topics. Twenty-six papers were presented: (1) "Conference on Outdoor Recreation for the Disabled: Breaking the Stereotype" (Tom Whittaker and Sheila Brashear); (2)…

Test procedures used during the performance of an evaluation program are presented. The test program was conducted to obtain the following performance data and information on the solar collector. (1) thermal performance data under outdoor conditions; (2) structural behavior of collector under static conditions; (3) effects of long term exposure to material weathering elements. The solargenics is a liquid, single-glazed, flat plate collector. Approximate dimensions of each collector are 240 inches long, 36 inches wide, and 3.5 inches in depth.

... part. Never attach—or allow children to attach—ropes, jump ropes, leashes, or similar items to play equipment; children ... trampoline, not from falling off. If children are jumping on a trampoline, they should be supervised by ...

Can play be defined? There is reason to raise critical questions about the established academic demand that at phenomenon – also in humanist studies – should first of all be defined, i.e. de-lineated and by neat lines limited to a “little box” that can be handled. The following chapter develops t....... Human beings can very well understand play – or whatever phenomenon in human life – without defining it........ The academic imperative of definition seems to be linked to the positivistic attempts – and produces sometimes monstrous definitions. Have they any philosophical value for our knowledge of what play is? Definition is not a universal instrument of knowledge-building, but a culturally specific construction...

The paper develops an approach of playing and gaming activities through the perspective of both activities as mood activities . The point of departure is that a game - is a tool with which we, through our practices, achieve different moods. This based on an empirical study of children's everyday...... lives, where the differences emerge through actual practices, i.e. through the creation of meaning in the specific situations. The overall argument is that it is not that important whether it is a playing or a gaming activity - it is however crucial to be aware of how moods occur and what their optimal...... dimensions: practices and moods. Practice is the concept of all the doing in the activities. Moods are the particular concept of sense and feeling of being, which is what we are drawn to when we are playing or gaming....

The paper develops an approach of playing and gaming activities through the perspective of both activities as mood activities . The point of departure is that a game - is a tool with which we, through our practices, achieve different moods. This based on an empirical study of children's everyday...... lives, where the differences emerge through actual practices, i.e. through the creation of meaning in the specific situations. The overall argument is that it is not that important whether it is a playing or a gaming activity - it is however crucial to be aware of how moods occur and what their optimal...... dimensions: practices and moods. Practice is the concept of all the doing in the activities. Moods are the particular concept of sense and feeling of being, which is what we are drawn to when we are playing or gaming....

Approximately 3 billion individuals rely on solid fuels for cooking globally. For a large portion of these - an estimated 533 million - cooking is outdoors, where emissions from cookstoves pose a health risk to both cooks and other household and village members. Models that estimate emissions rates from stoves in indoor environments that would meet WHO air quality guidelines (AQG), explicitly don't account for outdoor cooking. The objectives of this paper are to link health based exposure guidelines with emissions from outdoor cookstoves, using a Monte Carlo simulation of cooking times from Haryana India coupled with inverse Gaussian dispersion models. Mean emission rates for outdoor cooking that would result in incremental increases in personal exposure equivalent to the WHO AQG during a 24-h period were 126 ± 13 mg/min for cooking while squatting and 99 ± 10 mg/min while standing. Emission rates modeled for outdoor cooking are substantially higher than emission rates for indoor cooking to meet AQG, because the models estimate impact of emissions on personal exposure concentrations rather than microenvironment concentrations, and because the smoke disperses more readily outdoors compared to indoor environments. As a result, many more stoves including the best performing solid-fuel biomass stoves would meet AQG when cooking outdoors, but may also result in substantial localized neighborhood pollution depending on housing density. Inclusion of the neighborhood impact of pollution should be addressed more formally both in guidelines on emissions rates from stoves that would be protective of health, and also in wider health impact evaluation efforts and burden of disease estimates. Emissions guidelines should better represent the different contexts in which stoves are being used, especially because in these contexts the best performing solid fuel stoves have the potential to provide significant benefits.

General game players are computer systems able to play strategy games based solely on formal game descriptions supplied at ""runtime"" (n other words, they don't know the rules until the game starts). Unlike specialized game players, such as Deep Blue, general game players cannot rely on algorithms designed in advance for specific games; they must discover such algorithms themselves. General game playing expertise depends on intelligence on the part of the game player and not just intelligence of the programmer of the game player.GGP is an interesting application in its own right. It is intell

also be conducive to deep learning. As such, a game can engage different dimensions of learning and embed elements of active, collaborative, cooperative and problem-based learning. Building on this logic, we present an exploratory case study of the use of a particular board game in a class of a course......This paper explores how games and play, which are deeply rooted in human beings as a way to learn and interact, can be used to teach certain concepts and practices related to open collaborative innovation. We discuss how playing games can be a source of creativity, imagination and fun, while it can...

An advantage of the playground metaphor is that it comes with the activity of going out on ‘play dates’ and developing friendships. In such playful relationships, there is always something at stake, but the interaction is also fun and inherently exploratory. In the following, we take a tour of five...... recent collaborative projects that the TANTlab has participated in. The projects differ widely and testify to different experiences with collaboration and intervention – from a data print on obesity with other researchers to a Facebook-driven intervention in Aalborg municipality’s primary school reform...

The complex mixture of chemicals and elements that constitute particulate matter (PM*) varies by season and geographic location because source contributors differ over time and place. The composition of PM having an aerodynamic diameter characteristics of these groups, and (3) to evaluate whether concentrations of elements from outdoor PM2.5 samples are appropriate surrogates for personal exposure to PM2.5 and its elements and whether indoor PM2.5 concentrations and information about home characteristics improve the prediction of personal exposure. The objectives of the study were addressed using data collected as part of the Relationships of Indoor, Outdoor, and Personal Air (RIOPA) study. The RIOPA study has previously measured the mass concentrations of PM2.5 and its elemental constituents during 48-hour concurrent indoor, outdoor (directly outside the home), and personal samplings in three urban areas (Los Angeles, California; Houston, Texas; and Elizabeth, New Jersey). The resulting data and information about personal and home characteristics (including air-conditioning use, nearby emission sources, time spent indoors, census-tract geography, air-exchange rates, and other information) for each RIOPA participant were downloaded from the RIOPA study database. We performed three sets of analyses to address the study aims. First, we conducted descriptive analyses to describe the relationships between elemental concentrations in the concurrently gathered indoor, outdoor, and personal air samples. We assessed the correlation between personal exposure and indoor concentrations as well as personal exposure and outdoor concentrations of each element and calculated ratios between them. In addition, we performed principal component analysis (PCA) and calculated principal component scores (PCSs) to examine the heterogeneity of the elemental composition and then tested whether the mixture of elements in indoor, outdoor, and personal PM2.5 was significantly different within

This paper presents Activity Theory as a framework for understanding the action of playing games with the intention of building a foundation for the creation of new game design tools and methods. Activity Theory, an epistemological framework rooted in Soviet psychology of the first half of the 20...

The G20 London summit made history. While applauding the summit’s productive communique, Ni Xiaoling, senior financial observer with Xinhua News Agency, warns of the gap between the greater responsibilities the International Monetary Fund shoulders and its limited capabilities to play the role of coordinator in economic globalization.

This paper examines the computer game play of an 11-year-old boy. In the course of building a virtual house he developed and used, without assistance, an artefact and an accompanying strategy to ensure that his house was symmetric. We argue that the creation and use of this artefact-strategy is a mathematical abstraction. The discussion…

-level perspective there is still an analytical gap between the ambitions and experiences of migrating players and economic power relations at play on the one hand and the socio-cultural embedding of the transnational connections in football migration on the other. In order to understand why and how football...

The purpose of this study is to contribute knowledge on and gain an understanding of elementary school teachers' perspectives on the function of play in children's learning processes. The study is qualitative with a hermeneutical approach and has George Herbert Mead as a theoretical frame of reference. Interviews have been carried out with seven…

This book targets Java and Scala developers who already have some experience in web development and who want to master Play framework quickly and efficiently. This book assumes you have a good level of knowledge and understanding of efficient Java and Scala code.

Yesterday evening, I went to see a play. It was really significant. It was about Zheng Xiaoyue, a very clever and diligent middle school student. Unfortunately, her mother died when she and her brother were very young. Her father was out of work and,

A moisture- electrical ? temperature (MET) test is proposed to evaluate the outdoor reliability of high power blue LEDs, with and without phosphor, and to understand the degradation physics of LEDs under the environment of combined humidity, temperature and electrical stresses. The blue LEDs with phosphor will be the high power white LEDs. Scanning acoustic microscopy is used to examine the resulted delamination during this test for the LEDs. The degradation mechanisms of blue LEDs (LEDs with...

Full Text Available Brand personality attributed to the brand is in case the condition of human character traits. One of the areas of the brand personality is the outdoor sports clothing also knowing as “outdoor” th at working city people’s adoption of opening up to the outdoor as new way events in a growing desire. In this study, the aims are personality characteristics of the outdoor sport clothing brands and determining the harmony of these personality characterist ics with brands. The research is in form of surveying study. The research population consists of people in Turkey who sports outdoor on land. In the sampling selection simple random sampling technique is utilized with asking concerned people to participate in the survey on a voluntary basis. The obtained data are analyzed and evaluated by using SPSS packet program. The survey that has been proven reliability and validity ( α = 0904 in the pilot application has sent to the related association members in a month - long through internet and a total of 103 people were replied. It has been identified that research participants are interesting in mostly as trekking , mountaineering, camping and biking outdoor sports and they are working in the public sector. Under research, in the result of factor analysis to determine the brand personality of outd oor sports brands, it had been seen that "competence", “ traditional ” and " androgen” dimensions were come through and the dimension of “excitement” was separated into three parts.

Understanding concepts of molecular mechanisms of drug action involves sequential visualization of physiological processes and drug effects, a task that can be difficult at an undergraduate level. Role-play is a teaching-learning methodology whereby active participation of students as well as clear visualization of the phenomenon is used to convey complex physiological concepts. However, its use in teaching drug action, a process that demands understanding of a second level of complexity over the physiological process, has not been investigated. We hypothesized that role-play can be an effective and well accepted method for teaching molecular pharmacology. In an observational study, students were guided to perform a role-play on a selected topic involving drug activity. Students' gain in knowledge was assessed comparing validated pre- and post-test questionnaires as well as class average normalized gain. The acceptance of role-play among undergraduate medical students was evaluated by Likert scale analysis and thematic analysis of their open-ended written responses. Significant improvement in knowledge (P pharmacology in undergraduate medical curricula.

Researchers interested in player’s experience would assumedly, across disciplines, agree that the goal behind enquiries into player’s experience is to understand the how games’ features end up affecting the player’s experience. Much of the contemporary interdisciplinary research into player......’s experience leans toward the empirical-scientific, in the forms (neuro)psychology, sociology and cognitive science, to name a few. In such approaches, for example demonstrating correlation between physiological symptoms and an in-game event may amount to ‘understanding’. However, the experience of computer...... game play is a viable topic also for computer game studies within the general tradition of humanities. In such context, the idea of ‘understanding an experience’ invites an approach focusing on the experienced significance of events and objects within computer game play. This focus, in turn, suggests...

Full Text Available ‘We were driving through Death Valley, an American-Australian and two Aussies, taking the scenic route from Las Vegas to Santa Cruz.’ This multi-voiced account of multispecies encounters along a highway takes up the challenge of playful and humorous writing that is as well deeply serious and theoretically provocative. Our travels brought us into what Donna Haraway calls the contact zone: a region of recognition and response. The contact zone is a place of significant questions: ‘Who are you, and so who are we? Here we are, and so what are we to become?’ Events were everything in this ecology of play, in which the movements of all the actors involved the material field in its entirety. We were brought into dances of approach and withdrawal, dances emerging directly, to paraphrase Brian Massumi, from the dynamic relation between a myriad of charged particles.

In this paper, we introduce 'public computation' as a genre of learning environments that can be used to radically broaden public participation in authentic, computation-enabled STEM disciplinary practices. Our paradigmatic approach utilizes open source software designed for professional scientists, engineers and digital artists, and situates them in an undiluted form, alongside live and archived expert support, in a public space. We present a case study of DigiPlay, a prototypical public computation space we designed at the University of Calgary, where users can interact directly with scientific simulations as well as the underlying open source code using an array of massive multi- touch screens. We argue that in such a space, public interactions with the code can be thought of as boundary work and play, through which public participation becomes legitimate scientific act, as the public engages in scientific creation through truly open-ended explorations with the code.

Evaluation of human exposure to atmospheric contaminants such as ozone and particulate matter (PM) is often based on measured data from fixed ambient (outdoors) Air Monitoring Stations. This results in an artificial characterization of indoor exposures, as concentrations and physicochemical attributes of indoor pollutants vary significantly and are different from corresponding outdoor values. A mechanistically-based modeling approach is presented here that aims to improve estimates for the outdoor/indoor relationships of photochemical pollutants and of associated fine particles and, subsequently, of human exposure assessments. New approaches for refining the spatial, temporal, and indoor/outdoor patterns of gas phase photochemical contaminants and PM are currently being developed and tested. These approaches are combined with information from either ambient monitoring networks or from ambient air quality models that consider aerosol physics and chemistry coupled with gas phase photochemistry (e.g. UAM-AERO). This process utilizes Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Relational Database (RD) methods, to facilitate detailed exposure scenario construction (involving e.g. the geographic location of an individual considered in time) and to aid in the estimation of population exposure over selected geographic areas. The combination of monitor data or air quality modeling with microenvironmental modeling in a GIS framework can potentially provide a useful platform for more accurate assessments of human exposure to co-occurring gas and particulate phase air pollutants.

Abstract: This article explores how student behavior and interactions change when teachers use “producing games” as a primary pedagogical strategy (Papert, 1980; Ejsing-Duun and Karoff, 2014). Based on student and teacher actions and responses, as well as on students' production—observed during f...... fieldwork—this paper emphasizes the importance of understanding how students explore creativity and playfulness while producing in learning situations....

Abstract: This article explores how student behavior and interactions change when teachers use “producing games” as a primary pedagogical strategy (Papert, 1980; Ejsing-Duun and Karoff, 2014). Based on student and teacher actions and responses, as well as on students' production—observed during f...... fieldwork—this paper emphasizes the importance of understanding how students explore creativity and playfulness while producing in learning situations....

During the last several decades, the nature of childhood has changed. There is not much nature in it anymore. Numerous studies in environmental education, environmental psychology, and conservation psychology show that the time children spend outdoors encourages healthy physical development, enriches creativity and imagination, and enhances classroom performance. Additional research shows that people's outdoor experiences as children, and adults can lead to more positive attitudes and behavior towards the environment, along with more environmental knowledge with which to guide public policy decisions. The overall purpose of this study was to examine the effect of middle childhood (age 6-11) outdoor experiences on an individual's current knowledge of the environment. This correlational study evaluated the following potential relationships: 1) The effect of "outdoorsiness" (defined as a fondness or enjoyment of the outdoors and related activities) on an individual's environmental knowledge; 2) The effect of gender on an individual's level of outdoorsiness; 3) The effect of setting (urban, suburban, rural, farm) on an individual's level of outdoorsiness and environmental knowledge; 4) The effect of formal [science] education on an individual's level of outdoorsiness and environmental knowledge; and 5) The effect of informal, free-choice learning on an individual's level of outdoorsiness and environmental knowledge. Outdoorsiness was measured using the Natural Experience Scale (NES), which was developed through a series of pilot surveys and field-tested in this research study. Participants included 382 undergraduate students at the University of Kansas with no preference or bias given to declared or undeclared majors. The information from this survey was used to analyze the question of whether outdoor experiences as children are related in some way to an adult's environmental knowledge after accounting for other factors of knowledge acquisition such as formal education

Full Text Available Prior research has found connections between youth participation in recreational activities and academic achievement, civic involvement, and improved health. To investigate California youth outdoor recreation attitudes, behaviors, and constraints, eight focus groups were conducted with community recreation center youth participants. Youth answered 10 questions about their experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of outdoor recreation. Data were analyzed using grounded theory. Three to seven axial codes were identified for each question. Results showed that youth want to have more access to outdoor recreational activities. However, there are frequently considerable constraints for the youth to overcome including draws of technology, family obligations, and laziness. Safety was a recurring concern among participants. Understanding youth attitudes and perceptions allows managers to meet youth needs, program for youth interests, and provides a strong foundation for marketing and as a rational for funding grants.

The study of urban outdoor thermal environment was carried out in one of the mountainous cities by using geography information system(GIS) technique which is connected with predicting and evaluating models for the outdoor thermal environment, monitoring data and simulating data. A prediction and evaluation system were set up.A typical mountainous city, i. e. , Yunyang city in Chongqing in China, was taken as an example, its urbanization trend and population growth was predicted and evaluated. The heat island intensity and its trend were simulated, the temperature field, velocity field and the humidity field were analyzed. The results show that GIS is an effective tool to deal with the outdoor thermal environment, especially for the mountainous cities with special geographical particularities. GIS can be used in the environmental management and the city planning especially for the mountainous cities.

This presentation takes general view of understanding outdoor education in New Zealand. This is seen from an outsider's perspective and is compared with "friluftsliv" in Denmark and the Nordic countries. Analysing and understanding one's culture is never easy, and the main challenge is to focus...... on and question everyday phenomena which seem natural and that reproduce one's own perspective. Cultural analysis and the analysis of social configurations together with a comparative cultural perspective form the research approach. . The presentation is based on a comparative and qualitative case study (Ragin......, 1992) of friluftsliv in Denmark and outdoor education in New Zealand. Friluftsliv and outdoor education are understood as socio-cultural constructs which develop and differ in time and space. The theoretical framework is based on ethnological cultural analysis (Ehn & Lofgren, 1982, 2008) combined...

Full Text Available In our days the outdoor activities of recreation are new and continuously increasing tendency that has usually entered in the industry of tourism and called Alternative forms of tourism. The aim of this study was to examine the experience of service of individuals after their attendance in various programs of outdoor activities and recreation that offer various private companies of recreation. Another stream of research from the general marketing field has shown that subjective, affective and experiential factors comprise a substantial portion of consumer satisfaction with services. In the research participated 273 men and women of age of 20 – 50 years, which participated in various outdoor activities in Greece that were organised by two private companies of recreation. The results of this research should extend itself in future in a bigger number of companies of recreation so as to become the desirable generalisations but also be used in the frames of processes of marketing.

Linking accelerated laboratory test to field performance for predicting the service life of polymeric materials are being investigated at NIST using the reliability-based methodology. Based on this methodology, a successful linkage between the laboratory and field exposure data for a model polymeric material has been made. Recently, this methodology, for the first time, was introduced to the lifetime assessment of PV polymeric materials. In this paper, a mechanistic study of the degradation of three unstabilized model ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) systems---uncured EVA, cured EVA and laminated EVA---was carried out under accelerated laboratory exposure and outdoor exposure. The NIST SPHERE (Simulated Photodegradation via High Energy Radiant Exposure) was used for the accelerated laboratory tests, and the outdoor exposure was conducted in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Simultaneous multiple stresses, including temperature, relative humidity and UV radiation, were applied individually or in combination during SPHERE exposure. The effects of the environmental factors on the main degradation mechanisms of different EVA systems were investigated. The results showed that the UV radiation was the most important factor for the degradation of EVA and a synergistic effect occurred between UV radiation and relative humidity. A slower degradation rate was observed for the laminated system as a result of limited diffusion of O2 and H2O into EVA. It was also found that the substantial chemical changes of the uncured EVA system did not yield yellowing, which was dramatically different from the peroxide cured EVA system. Additionally, the chemical degradation modes of the three EVA systems exposed outdoors appeared to be similar to those exposed to the SPHERE. The implication of this work to the current test standards was discussed.

The heavy application of pesticides and its potential effects on natural communities has attracted increasing attention to inadvertent impacts of these chemicals. Toxicologists conventionally use laboratory-based tests to assess lethal concentrations of pesticides. However, these tests often do not take into account indirect, interactive and long-term effects, and tend to ignore different rates of disintegration in the laboratory and under natural conditions. Our aim was to investigate the importance of the experimental venue for ecotoxicology tests. We reared tadpoles of the agile frog (Rana dalmatina) in the laboratory and in outdoor mesocosms and exposed them to three initial concentrations of a glyphosate-based herbicide (0, 2 and 6.5 mg a.e./L glyphosate), and to the presence or absence of caged predators (dragonfly larvae). The type of experimental venue had a large effect on the outcome: The herbicide was less lethal to tadpoles reared in outdoor mesocosms than in the laboratory. Further, while the herbicide had a negative effect on development time and on body mass in the laboratory, tadpoles exposed to the herbicide in mesocosms were larger at metamorphosis and developed faster in comparison to those reared in the absence of the herbicide. The effect of the herbicide on morphological traits of tadpoles also differed between the two venues. Finally, in the presence of the herbicide, tadpoles tended to be more active and to stay closer to the bottom of laboratory containers, while tadpole behaviour shifted in the opposite direction in outdoor mesocosms. Our results demonstrate major discrepancies between results of a classic laboratory-based ecotoxicity test and outcomes of an experiment performed in outdoor mesocosms. Consequently, the use of standard laboratory tests may have to be reconsidered and their benefits carefully weighed against the difficulties of performing experiments under more natural conditions. Tests validating experimentally estimated

In this paper, we report on the study Safe in Nature (Tryg i naturen) in which the aim was to analyze and discuss risk and safety related to outdoor recreation in the coastal regions of Denmark. A cultural perspective is applied to risk management and the safety cultures related to three selected...... water-based outdoor activities: small boat fishing, sea kayaking, and kite surfing. The theoretical framework used was cultural analysis and the methodological approach was mixed methods using case studies with survey and qualitative interviews. The study indicates that safety is a complex matter...

The paper proposes a technique for estimation outdoor illumination conditions in terms of sun and sky radiances directly from pixel values of dynamic shadows detected in video sequences produved by a commercial stereo camera. The technique is applied to the rendering of virtual object into the im......The paper proposes a technique for estimation outdoor illumination conditions in terms of sun and sky radiances directly from pixel values of dynamic shadows detected in video sequences produved by a commercial stereo camera. The technique is applied to the rendering of virtual object...

This paper proposed a multi-agent based architecture for outdoor mobile robot navigation where event-driven control is used to handle the dynamically changing of the environment. With the support of a distributed communication infrastructure and an event-driven situation evaluation agent, the robot can initiate action adaptive to the dynamical changes in the environment through reorganize its internal architecture. Adaptiveness and feasibility of the proposed architecture is validated through navigation experiments on the robot in a variety of natural outdoor environments.

Full Text Available The article is a synthetic analysis of the Outdoor Adventure Education model in the context of three elementary components: the environment – in relation to the theory of space from the perspective of sociological and pedagogical theory of space; personal perspective and growth as well as social development – in relation to psychological phenomena that accompany the individual and group involved in the process of Outdoor Adventure Education. The aim is to present how these processes determine the effects of education and what personalities’ elements are involved.

We present a fast integrated approach for online segmentation of images for outdoor robots. A compact color and texture descriptor has been developed to describe local color and texture variations in an image. This descriptor is then used in a two-stage fast clustering framework using K-means to ......We present a fast integrated approach for online segmentation of images for outdoor robots. A compact color and texture descriptor has been developed to describe local color and texture variations in an image. This descriptor is then used in a two-stage fast clustering framework using K...

This report details the global spectral irradiance intercomparison using spectroradiometers that was organized by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Solar Radiation Research Laboratory. The intercomparison was performed both indoors and outdoors on September 17, 2013. Five laboratories participated in the intercomparison using 10 spectroradiometers, and a coordinated measurement setup and a common platform were employed to compare spectral irradiances under both indoor and outdoor conditions. The intercomparison aimed to understand the performance of the different spectroradiometers and to share knowledge in making spectral irradiance measurements. This intercomparison was the first of its kind in the United States.

In an outdoor pig-breeding unit of the Tierpark Arche Warder e. V. (Germany), 16 pigs of different age and sex died in October 2011. Necropsy findings revealed tympany, liver emphysema, subcutaneous oedema, haemopericardium, haemothorax, and intense gas bubble infiltrations in muscles. The stomachs were filled. The initial anaerobic bacteriological investigations gave negative results. In further analyses of tissue samples, the flagellin gene of C. novyi types A and B was detected using PCR. Based on the anatomical-pathological and bacteriological findings as well as PCR testing, a C. novyi infection was assumed to be the cause of the pig mortality.

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution has been estimated to contribute more than 7% to the total global human disease burden from 1990 to 2013 (http://healthdata.org/gbd). Ambient (outdoor) and household indoor PM2.5 exposures are reported to account for 41% and 58% of this impact, respectively....... Model and parameters are tested in a case study on the production and rocessing of rice in three distinct scenarios covering urban China, rural India and U.S.-Europe. Recommendations are to use this coupled, generic framework whenever emission locations are unknown and to apply spatial models henever...

This group of figurines, each 0.15m tall, were unearthed from a Tang Dynasty tomb in Changsha in 1977. Music was very developed in the Tang Dynasty. Colorful musical instruments and dances were popular both among the people and in the palace. These vivid-looking figurines wear pleated skirts with small sleeves and open chest, a style influenced by the non-Han nationalities living in the north and west of China. Some of the musical instruments were brought from the Western Regions. The figurines are playing the xiao (a vertical bamboo flute), the konghou (an

implementation of robotic physical movement synchronously manipulated from sourced data movement information of a human. SoundScapes is a concept based on non-verbal communication and stimulation through interactive play with sounds and images, which is being realised in the production of a non-wearable sensor...... groups of children, including children with severe physical/multi disabilities. The sourced capture of the human data is from enhanced virtual interactive space created from sensors. The data is constituted of the situated multimodal communication and forms of expression. The ‘VIS’ is considered...

implementation of robotic physical movement synchronously manipulated from sourced data movement information of a human. SoundScapes is a concept based on non-verbal communication and stimulation through interactive play with sounds and images, which is being realised in the production of a non-wearable sensor...... groups of children, including children with severe physical/multi disabilities. The sourced capture of the human data is from enhanced virtual interactive space created from sensors. The data is constituted of the situated multimodal communication and forms of expression. The ‘VIS’ is considered...

. Unfortunately if donated in the school they are rarely being used by the students. In the case of virtual reality or artistic installations it is extremely difficult to provide such equipment to users. Last but not least we are not sure how the software will be used and if the experience will continue...... after the conduct of the research. If not due to restrictions, user should at least continue to be part of the research’s debrief and next steps. While I was in Nottingham I realised that sometimes our research, our playful educational experience, our DIY VR helmet, our beta, glitchy, research-only game...

Embodied gaming has been adopted and gained credibility in the field of physical rehabilitation. In this paper, we report on findings from a six-month-long study of three groups of senior citizens, and their use of Nintendo Wii Fit in a supervised physical training context. We argue that the study...... participants generally found physical training both fun and socially engaging, and experienced improved fitness. We also argue that embodied gaming motivates seniors to do more than they think themselves capable of, and allows seniors with different mental and physical capabilities to play together. However...

This article argues that play and playfulness are basic features in early childhood education, but that play curricula can have serious drawbacks. The starting point is the play theory of the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, a radical critic of the focus on the educational benefits of play. According

This article argues that play and playfulness are basic features in early childhood education, but that play curricula can have serious drawbacks. The starting point is the play theory of the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, a radical critic of the focus on the educational benefits of play. According

We examined the association between perceived environmental barriers to outdoor mobility and loneliness among community-dwelling older people. In addition, we studied whether walking difficulties and autonomy in participation outdoors affected this association.

Playing a game can be defined as, in a fun way, to reach a goal by means of helpers and challenged by obstacles and opponents. In this workshop we will gain a new understanding of the lobby by making it into a game. The lobby of the museum can be understood as a game in which the players (the....... The object is surprisingly not to play the games, but to design them. Through the design process we are forced to discuss: What are the challenges of a particular lobby (e.g. ticketing, queueing, other visitors, guards, getting lost)? Which properties do the players have (e.g. patience, expectations, need...... of a toilet)? what boosters may they obtain in the lobby (e.g. coffee, help, souvenirs, signs)? And how can we make this an enjoyable experience? The object of the games is to understand the lobby in a new way to identify problems, and think of ways to improve the functions, flow, and services of the lobby....

The development of public parks into green city facilities in Surabaya has triggered the need of outdoor furniture designs that can resist the tropical wet and dry weather conditions while also having a certain mobility to support flexible park arrangement. However, present furniture designs made of concrete material are generally heavy and immovable. Flexible designs are needed for various activities that can take place at the same time such as sitting and playing, and to support changes in arrangement to keep the green open spaces attractive from time to time. This research develops the idea of a modular outdoor furniture design using cellular lightweight concrete (CLC) as the main material as a result from observing its resistance towards weather change and its relative light weight. It starts with analysis of problems, formulation of design concept, creation of design alternatives, selection of design, calculation of mouldings, adaptation of design to the mouldings and production of a scaled mock-up using CLC. Findings of this research reveal that the modular design along with the CLC material used not only support the flexibility of change in function and arrangement but also make these furniture resistant to the hot and humid weather of Surabaya.

Human occupants are an important source of microbes in indoor environments. In this study, we used DNA sequencing of filter samples to assess the fungal and bacterial composition of air in an environmental chamber under different levels of occupancy, activity, and exposed or covered carpeting. In this office-like, mechanically ventilated environment, results showed a strong influence of outdoor-derived particles, with the indoor microbial composition tracking that of outdoor air for the 2-hour sampling periods. The number of occupants and their activity played a significant but smaller role influencing the composition of indoor bioaerosols. Human-associated taxa were observed but were not particularly abundant, except in the case of one fungus that appeared to be transported into the chamber on the clothing of a study participant. Overall, this study revealed a smaller signature of human body-associated taxa than had been expected based on recent studies of indoor microbiomes, suggesting that occupants may not exert a strong influence on bioaerosol microbial composition in a space that, like many offices, is well ventilated with air that is moderately filtered and moderately occupied.

Magic lens and static peephole interfaces are used in numerous consumer mobile phone applications such as Augmented Reality browsers, games or digital map applications in a variety of contexts including public spaces. Interface performance has been evaluated for various interaction tasks involving...... spatial relationships in a scene. However, interface usage outside laboratory conditions has not been considered in depth in the evaluation of these interfaces. We present findings about the usage of magic lens and static peephole interfaces for playing a find-and-select game in a public space and report...... on the reactions of the public audience to participants’ interactions. Contrary to our expectations participants favored the magic lens over a static peephole interface despite tracking errors, fatigue and potentially conspicuous gestures. Most passersby did not pay attention to the participants and vice versa...

Outdoor environmental education has long postulated a link between experiences outdoors in "natural" environments and environmental concern. This paper suggests a straightforward relationship is problematic due to its implicit assumption of a nature/culture divide. Critical outdoor education has sought to overcome this dualism by…

As Australia heads into a new era of implementing a National Curriculum, the place of Outdoor Education in Australian schools is under question. In the initial drafts of the National Curriculum, Outdoor Education has been marginalised. The authors propose that Outdoor Education should maintain a strong role, especially as processes of experiential…

This paper discusses the purposes that outdoor education does, could and should serve in Singapore. Gert Biesta's conceptualisation of three functions of education is adapted to frame deliberations on the purposes of outdoor education in Singapore's socio-political and educational milieu. The author suggests that outdoor education in…

This research examines teaching outdoor education in two rural primary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim was to give "voice" to how outdoor education is taught, programmed and understood. Underpinning the research was the question: what factors enable/constrain teachers' ability to implement outdoor education? The findings…

Groups are ubiquitous in outdoor education and while there is a lot of literature on groups, there is limited examination of the assumptions made about groups and the effects these assumptions have on the practices of outdoor education. I utilise some of Michel Foucault's (1992) tools to investigate literature on outdoor education groups.…

Groups are ubiquitous in outdoor education and while there is a lot of literature on groups, there is limited examination of the assumptions made about groups and the effects these assumptions have on the practices of outdoor education. I utilise some of Michel Foucault's (1992) tools to investigate literature on outdoor education groups.…

Ammonia emission and nutrient load in outdoor runs of laying hens were measured at a commercial farm with an outdoor run for 3000 hens, and at an experimental farm with two outdoor runs, each for approximately 250 hens. Ammonia emission was recorded at 5, 10,15 and 20 m from the hen house, using the

Outdoor education in teaching and learning is being increasingly used as an ... museums, art galleries and architectural structures are therefore also considered to be outdoor educational environments that can be understood in terms of the school-based outdoor ..... veloping educational materials for SBOE; design-.

Learners thrive when they have the capacity to regulate interest and goal direction. Through direct experiences that are interesting and goal-relevant, learners can internalize and better understand their own agency in the learning process. This article further examines this premise in an outdoor adventure education (OAE) context through two…

Impedance spectroscopy (IS) has been used for laboratory characterizations of photovoltaic (PV) technologies under well controlled conditions. This work applies IS for outdoor characterization of PV panels, in order to observe the effect of irradiance (G) and temperature (T) on the PV module...

Low motivation to participate in traditional or team sports, apathy toward competitive environments, and a low rate of transfer of skills to lifetime activities and wellness can be barriers for student pursuits of lifelong fitness. Adding an outdoor component can be a solution for some of these problems, while still accomplishing the National…

the relationship between the physiological and psychological responses of humans and the enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature (ETFe). Subjective experiments were conducted in an outdoor environment. Subjects were exposed to the thermal environment in a standing posture. Air temperature...

Full Text Available Given the climatic changes around the world and the growing outdoor sports participation, existing guidelines and recommendations for exercising in naturally challenging environments such as heat, cold or altitude, exhibit potential shortcomings. Continuous efforts from sport sciences and exercise physiology communities aim at minimizing the risks of environmental-related illnesses during outdoor sports practices. Despite this, the use of simple weather indices does not permit an accurate estimation of the likelihood of facing thermal illnesses. This provides a critical foundation to modify available human comfort modeling and to integrate bio-meteorological data in order to improve the current guidelines. Although it requires further refinement, there is no doubt that standardizing the recently developed Universal Thermal Climate Index approach and its application in the field of sport sciences and exercise physiology may help to improve the appropriateness of the current guidelines for outdoor, recreational and competitive sports participation. This review first summarizes the main environmental-related risk factors that are susceptible to increase with recent climate changes when exercising outside and offers recommendations to combat them appropriately. Secondly, we briefly address the recent development of thermal stress models to assess the thermal comfort and physiological responses when practicing outdoor activities in challenging environments.

Preparation of teachers and students for their one-day trip to the Albuquerque Public Schools' Outdoor Education Center is outlined. Topics covered include: orientation program; general preparation considerations; course of study; map of site; vocabulary; activity evaluation sheet; and a supplementary book list. Geology, biology, safety…

The recently revised national curriculum for England and Wales includes changes that emphasize the importance of personal, social, and environmental education; citizenship and learning across the curriculum; and education for sustainable development. Outdoor education can make significant contributions to areas of the curriculum that address…

An illustrated, self-contained packet, the resource materials contained in this guide are designed for adaptation to K-8. The resources and ideas presented here are designed to encourage utilization of the outdoors as a learning resource. While intrinsically multidisciplinary, the activities are particularly adaptable to social studies, science,…

Full Text Available Air pollution is one of the most serious problems to human health. Fungi are the causal agents for different diseases in animals, plants, and human beings. Otomycosis, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, allergy, and systemic mycosis are among the fungal diseases caused. The present study was conducted to analyze the monthly incidence of airborne fungi, seasonal variation, and influence of meteorological parameters in indoor and outdoor fungi of cowshed at Hesaraghatta village, Bangalore. An aeromycological survey of indoor and outdoor area of cowshed at Hesaraghatta village in Bangalore city was carried out using the Andersen two-stage sampler onto a petri dish containing malt extract agar from January 2011 to December 2011. Altogether, 29 species belonging to 13 genera from indoor and 26 species belonging to 12 genera were recorded from outdoor environment of the cowshed; the dominant fungal species identified were Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus sp., and Alternaria alternata. Seasonal occurrence of fungal spores in both indoor and outdoor of the cowshed revealed that maximum spores were recorded in summer season followed by winter and rainy season.

Residential outdoor environmental education (ROEE) programs for youth have been shown to yield lasting autobiographical episodic memories. This article explores how past program participants have used such memories, and draws on the memory psychology literature to offer a new perspective on the long-term impacts of environmental education.…

The suitable prediction model for outdoor sound fields depends on the situation and the application. Computationally intensive methods such as Parabolic Equation methods, FFP methods and Boundary Element Methods all have advantages in certain situations. These approaches are accurate and predict ...

During the twentieth century, outdoor physical education (OPE) gradually integrated with the French education system. Culturally speaking, OPE had to overcome several hurdles because it promoted values such as freedom, initiative and responsibility that were deemed incompatible with the existing educational model. Beyond being a pedagogical tool,…

Learners' Experiences of Peer Tutoring in the Context of Outdoor Learning: The ... its effectiveness in promoting learning in large class sizes which characterise ... 104 Class 6 learners as tutors, 86 Class 2 learners as tutees, and 8 teachers as ...

Full Text Available An image processing algorithm for detecting individual weeds was developed and evaluated. Weed detection processes included were normalized excessive green conversion, statistical threshold value estimation, adaptive image segmentation, median filter, morphological feature calculation and Artificial Neural Network (ANN. The developed algorithm was validated for its ability to identify and detect weeds and crop plants under uncontrolled outdoor illuminations. A machine vision implementing field robot captured field images under outdoor illuminations and the image processing algorithm automatically processed them without manual adjustment. The errors of the algorithm, when processing 666 field images, ranged from 2.1 to 2.9%. The ANN correctly detected 72.6% of crop plants from the identified plants, and considered the rest as weeds. However, the ANN identification rates for crop plants were improved up to 95.1% by addressing the error sources in the algorithm. The developed weed detection and image processing algorithm provides a novel method to identify plants against soil background under the uncontrolled outdoor illuminations, and to differentiate weeds from crop plants. Thus, the proposed new machine vision and processing algorithm may be useful for outdoor applications including plant specific direct applications (PSDA.

An image processing algorithm for detecting individual weeds was developed and evaluated. Weed detection processes included were normalized excessive green conversion, statistical threshold value estimation, adaptive image segmentation, median filter, morphological feature calculation and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The developed algorithm was validated for its ability to identify and detect weeds and crop plants under uncontrolled outdoor illuminations. A machine vision implementing field robot captured field images under outdoor illuminations and the image processing algorithm automatically processed them without manual adjustment. The errors of the algorithm, when processing 666 field images, ranged from 2.1 to 2.9%. The ANN correctly detected 72.6% of crop plants from the identified plants, and considered the rest as weeds. However, the ANN identification rates for crop plants were improved up to 95.1% by addressing the error sources in the algorithm. The developed weed detection and image processing algorithm provides a novel method to identify plants against soil background under the uncontrolled outdoor illuminations, and to differentiate weeds from crop plants. Thus, the proposed new machine vision and processing algorithm may be useful for outdoor applications including plant specific direct applications (PSDA).

This paper examines how a mobile learning application can enhance children's outdoor learning experiences. The study draws upon empirical evidence gathered in one case study conducted in a Finnish primary school setting in the fall of 2012. The data were collected with student and teacher surveys. The case study indicated that the mobile…

A series of scale model experiments related to outdoor propagation over an earth berm is described. The measurements are performed with a triggered spark source. The results are compared with data from an existing calculation model based upon uniform diffraction theory. Comparisons are made...

Offers a guide for designing a multi-credit course integrating several subject areas including geography, environmental science, and outdoor education. The program has three main components-theoretical, experiential and practical-involving classroom and field studies, environmental co-op, and environmental leadership opportunities. Timetabling and…

In response to the crisis of sustainability, this paper revisits understandings of human--environment relations established through skill-based outdoor activities that are used commonly among adventure recreation, education, and tourism. Reconsidering a predominant focus on risk and a persistent tension between technical and environmental…

Describes how an outdoor program specializing in wilderness expeditions approaches risk management, liability, and insurance. Discusses maintaining good communications with insurance agents, managing crisis situations, participating in program audits, reading the fine print, international insurance coverage, and the basis for insurance premiums.…

Relationships are a critical component to the experience of an outdoor adventure education (OAE) program, therefore, more fruitful ways of investigating groups is needed. Social network analysis (SNA) is an effective tool to study the relationship structure of small groups. This paper provides an explanation of SNA and shows how it was used by the…

Reports effects of an outdoor field trip on learning within the context of a community-based Summery Ecology Program for children between 7 and 13 years of age. Results include the finding that novel environments are poor settings for imposed task learning when compared with familiar environments. (CS)

of several sources of outdoor air pollution such as fossil-fuel combustion. ... national monitoring network is limited, uneven in distribution across the ... Systems (GIS) Unit of the Medical Research Council. ..... purposes to cleaner fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas ... transport, conserving energy, and using appliances with.

of several sources of outdoor air pollution such as fossil-fuel combustion. .... distribution with a counterfactual risk factor distribution, conferring the ... Systems (GIS) Unit of the Medical Research Council. ..... purposes to cleaner fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas ... transport, conserving energy, and using appliances with.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between status congruency and group cohesion in outdoor expedition groups in an educational setting. Specifically, three aspects of status congruency were assessed in relation to group cohesion in four adventure canoe groups. The groups participated in 2-week expeditions in the…

The predominant focus of the 24 Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) Trial Edition Set III activities is on animal behavior, and the adaptations and diversity of both plants and animals. Night time activities, games, investigation, experimentation, and crafts are used to study ants, birds, clams, water snails, water striders, spiders,…

In response to the crisis of sustainability, this paper revisits understandings of human--environment relations established through skill-based outdoor activities that are used commonly among adventure recreation, education, and tourism. Reconsidering a predominant focus on risk and a persistent tension between technical and environmental…

Residential outdoor environmental education (ROEE) programs for youth have been shown to yield lasting autobiographical episodic memories. This article explores how past program participants have used such memories, and draws on the memory psychology literature to offer a new perspective on the long-term impacts of environmental education.…

The suitable prediction model for outdoor sound propagation depends on the situation and the application. Computationally intensive method such as Parabolic Equation methods, FFP methods and Boundary Element Methods all have advantages in certain situations. None of these approaches are at present...

The suitable prediction model for outdoor sound fields depends on the situation and the application. Computationally intensive methods such as parabolic equation methods, FFP methods, and boundary element methods all have advantages in certain situations. These approaches are accurate and predict...

This text deals with the potential spiritual aspects of being outdoors within the framework of non-formal and informal education. The course being examined was organized by the Vacation School of Lipnice--Outward Bound Czech Republic, and the participants in this course made up the research sample. While the research was not directly focused on…

When the author was a child 50 years ago, nobody planned her outdoor environment. Her home was close to flower-filled meadows that she could explore freely, and her preschool and elementary school classrooms opened onto beautiful woodlands that children used as an important part of their day-to-day learning. The last time she visited her old…

Noise control of different types of outdoor machinery covered by EU Directive 2000/14/EC such as construction machines, generators and other equipment powered by internal combustion engines requires knowledge of the noise path model and the potential noise control measures. As there is often a

Learners thrive when they have the capacity to regulate interest and goal direction. Through direct experiences that are interesting and goal-relevant, learners can internalize and better understand their own agency in the learning process. This article further examines this premise in an outdoor adventure education (OAE) context through two…